Pocket Watch
by Neo Yi
Summary: Danny is dying...as well as stressed over his life, family, and friends, so the frustrated ghost boy heads over to Vlad's. Two lives clash as they both help each other deal with their own past, present, and eventual future. CHAPTER 12 IS UP.
1. Life sure has a way of teasing ya

**Pocket Watch  
Life sure has a way of teasing ya**

_  
Fate is an ugly, cruel thing. It takes so much of the potentials, beliefs, and hopes you've ever had and steps on them until they're reduced to barely anything you could resemble. So, why the hell do people cling so much onto it? Why do people believe in it when fate plays you for a loser and leave you miserable? I guess people are just risky like that. I know I've done my share over the years, but nowadays, leaving my life to fate is out of the question…_

**Another Fight Gone Wrong  
**"AHHHHHHHH!" came the scream of Danny Phantom, alter ego superhero to young 16 year old Danny Fenton as he landed face first to a pile of trash cans. As he struggled to get out of week old foods, soggy cardboards, and smelly diapers, a ghost clad mostly in black and suited in armor headed his way.  
"Oh, this is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen and I've sat through _Batman and Robin_." Came the voice of Skulker, the ghost hunter whose primary goal was to add Danny to his growing collection of ghosts he's hunted over the years.  
"Shut up!" Danny said quickly and sternly. He then rose up in the air until he was hovering 30 feet above the ground. He, too wore a load of black, but that was mostly due to the color inverse on the jumpsuit he wore when he curiously entered inside his family's ghost portal on the urging of his friend Sam two years back. Back then, Danny was a naïve, immature, young lad with a good heart, or in short, he was just like any other teenage boys at that age. He probably still would be, but two years risking your very life to save the world can change a person drastically. He was less naïve and more aware, not as highly optimistic as usual, but not overall pessimistic either, just more realistic, and certainly more mature. His black jumpsuit reflected the image, starting off as a simple…well…black jumpsuit, but over the course of the years (and with Sam's help) gradually evolved into a suit more suitably for his age and maturity.  
"Embarrassed?" Skulker grinned, extending his arm to send forth a small missile. Danny barely managed to get out of the way. Then he struggled to deck the burly ghost in the face. Instead, Skulker merely dodged, grabbed Danny by the leg, twirled him around, and then threw him. Danny landed smacked dab on the side of a building.  
"Oh, God." Danny muttered to himself. He felt something wet streak down his lips and noticed it was blood.  
"What the hell?" Skulker shouted as he flew closer to Danny, "THIS is the best you can give me? I mean, geez, it's like you got your powers just yesterday! Do you even take me seriously!"  
Danny struggled to say something, but he's tongue was flabbergasted and his entire body was aching from the pain, which irritated Skulker even further.  
"This is CRAP!" He cried out, "I can't defeat you if you're gonna treat me like some second rate loser you picked up off the street!" The ghost hunter turned the other way and started to fly off.  
"Come back to me when you want to take our fights seriously!" He shouted.  
Danny watched him leave with a relief, yet utter disdain. He punched the side of the building before struggling to get up, every part of his muscles aching. Crashing into a side building, it's happen plenty of times before and Danny's ghost half usually has the means to take in that much punishment, now he feels like he was pushed there by a tank. Wiping the blood out of his face, Danny flew back home, entering via his open window which he left from prior to Skulker's appearance, when his ghost sense kicked off. He transformed back into his human form and immediately raced to the bathroom.

Danny eyed himself in the mirror, most notably his face: Bruised, cut, bleeding, Danny's already had to explain numerous times on how he got his injuries to his parents. He counted his lucky stars that his father was at least obsessed with ghosts enough that he primary used that as an excuse for him being beaten up half the time (in the end, Jack would try and hunt the "imaginary" ghosts Danny made up).

"_Uhh…I was walking home from school and a ghost attacked me."  
_"_It's so strange; a ghost got me while I was at the mall."  
_"_That weird ghost attacked me and gave me a concussion while I was at the park."  
_"_A ghost did it."  
_"_The ghosts attacked me."  
_"_Ghosts."  
_"_Ghosts."  
_"_Ghosts."_

God, how he hated that word now.  
"OW." Danny said to himself as he put on some iodine over his lips. He grabbed some toilet paper nearby and held it over his forehead which had a massive scrap. He eyed himself in the mirror. That's not the face of a 16 year old teenage boy but of a warrior. He let out a groan. How could he lose to Skulker? No, not lose; you only lose when you were completely defeated. Skulker left him. Still, he's let a lot of ghosts go over the past few months, all because of events such as the Skulker battle he faced today. He was lacking in concentration, all due to his life which seemingly started to get hectic. It just came out of nowhere, but his school grades grew even worse, his peers started to slowly view him as a freak, his friends refused to talk to him, and to put the icing on the cake, his family was virtually ignoring him. How did it start? He couldn't remember when, but he had memories, bits and pieces of how he came to be the way he was now: sickingly upset over his crappy life…

**…………………**

**You think your life sucks?  
**"Another F, Mr. Fenton." Lancer said as he casually placed his test on Danny's desk. Danny peered over the giant red "F" written on his paper and eyed Lancer, the bald teacher with a pot belly. Lancer's expression was obviously displeasing.  
"If you keep this up, I'm afraid I have no choice but to schedule a meeting with your folks." He said.  
"Good luck, their attentions these days are towards Jazz." Danny said with a voice of utter disdain, "I'd be lucky if they even managed a "hi" if I walked in with both legs broken." Lancer merely raised one eyebrow before leaving to hand out the other tests. He let out a groan and placed his head down on his desk. His two best friends, techno geek Tucker and Goth girl Sam eyed their friend with concern.  
"Come on, Danny, you're not even good at math anyways, so this should all be commonplace for you." Tucker said casually as the three walked down the hall. Danny made a cringe worthy face.  
"Not helping, Tuck." Sam said, frowning, "Cheer up, Danny, if you want, I can hire you a tutor."  
"I've never seen so many Fs before in my entire life." Danny cried out, "Even I don't fail math THAT much." The three stopped at Danny's locker where he fiddled with the combination as he continued speaking.  
"And it's not just math, it's everything else." Danny mumbled, "English, history, Chemistry, hell, I'm failing family studies. Who the hell fails family studies!" As his voice grew aggravated, so did his hand as he constantly tried to open his locker, his combination seemingly not working for him.  
"Why are you taking family studies?" Tucker asked quizzingly. Danny didn't answer or pay attention to Tucker's words. Instead, he was busy fighting his locker, slamming the thing.  
"Oh, Danny." Sam sighed as she pushed him aside and opened his locker for him. Danny didn't give a grateful face or a mere "thank you", instead, he just grabbed for his books.  
"You know, you could have made your arms intangible." Tucker suggested.  
"And risk my secret identity, I don't think so." Danny said, slamming the locker after getting what he needed.  
"But you've done it plenty of times before." Tucker said, "Maybe you just forgot today."  
"That was before, a very long time before." Danny said, "I'm just being cautious." The school bell rang.  
"I gotta go before the teach yells at me for being late to history…again." Danny gritted through his teeth. He ran, leaving the two friends behind, once again looking deeply concerned.  
"Junior Year's suppose to be the toughest school year, so I can only imagine what Danny's gonna go through when he reaches it this Fall." Tucker mumbled.

**…………………**

**Technological  
**History Class came and went, as did Chemistry and Gym. He marched himself to his next class (English) when his ghost sense left his mouth. Danny gazed out the window and saw another side of the school building where Technus, the so-called master of technology was screwing around in the computer lab.  
"Oh, damn it." Danny muttered to himself. He quickly ran to the boy's bathroom and took a cubicle. Concentrating all his might, he turned from seemingly normal 16 year old boy to super charged ghost boy. He flew, phasing through the walls until he reached Technus, charging into him with both fists out. The ghost crash landed on another set of computers. Technus rummaged through the mess and saw him face to face with Danny.  
"I knew I'd take a risk entering this godforsaken school." Technus sighed, mumbling mostly to himself.  
"I'm late for English and I'm not doing so hot in school as it is, so let's make this fast and to the point." Danny said, arms crossed. Technus must've agreed as he used his powers and sent computers after Danny. Danny quickly flew out of the way and showered Technus with a burst of ecto ray. Soon, it was a battle between ecto rays and flying computers. Several students and teachers passing by stared in awe, mostly backing off when something was flying their way.  
"You can't keep this up, ghost child!" Technus said with his usual grin on his face.  
"Neither can you!" Danny shouted.  
"Well, I'm dead, it doesn't really matter to me, well, compare to you anyways." Technus spoke, tossing an electric pencil sharpener his way, "It's surprising the huge amount of ghost powers you've been using has yet to take its toll on you." Danny's raised his eyebrows a bit. Suddenly, he felt tired. He felt water dripping down his face and noticed it was sweat. He tried to brandish another wave of ecto ray, but doing so only seem to make him more tired. In the end, he fell down from his mid flight and landed harshly on the floor. Technus took this cue to enter the sole computer spared from the battle. Whatever he did was unknown for the time being and frankly, Danny wasn't concerned about this matter as much as he was trying to gain his strength back. He eyed the students and teachers eyeing him. Wide eyed, Danny quickly got up, gained intangibility, and flew off.

By Study Hall, Danny was fast asleep to recover whatever energy he lost during that fight.

**A Different Kind of Fight  
**"ALL the computers were destroyed?" Tucker gasped, his face turning pale as he gripped his spoon.  
"Tucker!" Sam snapped, "What do you mean you felt tired?"  
Danny fiddled with his tray as he eyed the goop they call lunch food, not bothering to eye Sam or Tucker as if he was ashamed.  
"I don't know…it's like every time I used my ecto ray, my energy was being zapped." Danny answered to the best of his abilities, "I fell asleep in study hall and didn't wake up until a teacher noticed I was the only one left. It's crazy."  
"Maybe you're just stressed and tired from all the school work you've been doing." Sam said, "You have been cramming a lot of stuff into your brain."  
"Maybe." Danny muttered. He got up and threw the remaining food in the nearest trash can which coincidentally was the same trash can Dash, the ever so popular school bully, was dumping his food.  
"Hey, watch where you're dumping those, FenTOAD." Dash spoke in his usual harsh tone whenever he was around the raven haired boy, "I just got this jacket pressed and ironed yesterday."  
"Yea, behold it on me that a jacket would be considered so sacred to not get food dumped on it." Danny muttered. Danny started to walk away, but Dash wouldn't let his favorite victim go off clean, so he grabbed Danny by the back of his shirt collar, and dumped him in the same trash can. Massive waves of laughter ensure.

**………………**

**Family Sucks  
**By the time school ended, he wasn't in a talking mood, so he walked home alone. When Danny entered his house, he was immediately greeted by two screaming parents. Jack and Maddie Fenton ran around the house, looking for the—  
"VIDEO CAMERA!" Maddie shrieked. "WHERE'S THE FENTON VIDEO CAMERA?"  
"I'm looking, I'm looking!" Jack cried as he opened up a futuristic looking chest, "Fenton bazooka, Fenton Anti-creep stick, Fenton boooo-merang, Fenton Camera, NO FENTON VIDEO CAMERA!" Again, the two frantically searched around while Danny watched, eyes half closed, mouth tightlipped over his parent's stupidity. His respect for them flew out the window when he saw the silver and neon green video camera neatly perched on the coffee table three feet away from him. Taking a deep sigh, Danny picked up the gadget and made a loud "ahem". When that didn't work, he tried again repeatedly until he rolled his eyes and practically shoved the camera in front of them.  
"Hey, there it is!" Jack grinned, taking the video camera out of Danny's hands. The two parents then raced to the stairs.  
"You can come down now." Maddie said to whoever was upstairs.  
"You're welcome." Danny said with a half hint of sarcasm. He watched in the same direction as Maddie and Jack did as his older sister, Jazz walked down the stairs, wearing her graduation clothes, red in color. It very well complemented her hair color. It used to be quite long, but over the years, she managed to cut it to neck length.  
"Oooh, I knew this day would come and when it does…you just don't know what to say." Jack sniffed back a tear.  
"Dad, graduations not for another two months." Jazz said with half a smile, "I'm just trying it on."  
"Yes, but still, Jazz, our future college girl." Maddie squealed as she hugged her eldest, "One of our birds finally leaves the nest."

As the two folks gushed over Jazz, Danny struggled past them to make his way up the stairs.  
"Don't mind me; I'm just going to my room." He said, fully aware neither of them was paying any lick of attention to him or his clothes, now with a range of color from the trash can he was dumped into earlier.  
"Danny, how do I look?" Jazz asked, her voice always filled with a sense of optimism.  
"You look great, Jazz." Danny said sincerely, but his smile was anything but. After that was said, Jazz was back to being gushed by her parents, leaving the youngest Fenton alone. His smile quickly left his face and he raced to his room, closing the door quietly. Dropping his back pack casually on the middle of the floor, Danny jumped on his bed and lied there. There, he pondered over his school work, his ignorant families, and mostly, of his powers seemingly zapping his energy off. Maybe Sam was right, it could just be all the stress and work he's been putting through lately. Speaking of work, he eyed the clock. He had to go to the Nasty Burger in about an hour. Danny groaned and shook it off his head. In a matter of minutes, he was asleep.

**Nasty, Nasty  
**"Late, AGAIN!" the manager shouted.  
"I'm sorry I overslept." Danny muttered, "I've just been feeling really weak lately."  
"I don't want to hear it!" The manager spoke. He was a tall, big figure, but had a commanding air around him that made others fear him, "If you're late one more time, you're outta here!"  
"Yes, sir." Danny mumbled. He then struggled over to the main cashier. The Nasty Burger. Of all places to get a part-time job, it HAD to be the Nasty Burger. Danny remembered some years back how he'd never get a job there, but when his parents refused to give him anymore money some year back, Danny took the responsibility and need for some pocket change and searched around for a part time job. Only the Nasty Burger was hiring. The first couple of months weren't too bad. Valerie worked in the Nasty Burger as well, mostly as the mascot in that stuffy suit. She'd be there to give him a helping hand and generally exchange pleasant conversations during breaks. Unfortunately, the traits seem to disappear over the course of the year when Danny got more irritated, causing Valerie to get irritated (considering her short temper). Nowadays, no one was talking to Danny due to his increasing repetition of being a walking volcano. Geez, even the people of Nasty Burger refuses to talk with him, how embarrassing.  
"Maybe if you worked on your attitude problem, you'd have more people talking to you." Valerie would often say. This time, the two were getting ready to leave. Danny was just packing some last minute things in his bag as well as his dinner which, of course, is Nasty Burger.  
"Pot calling kettle black." Danny muttered back with a sense of arrogance and frustration.  
"Hey, we all have our problems. I have two jobs, remember?" Valerie pointed out.  
"You're not the only one." Danny mumbled. He slinged his bag over his shoulder and walked out.  
"Maybe you should consider therapy, Danny." Valerie suggested, her temperature rising. Danny ignored her and continued walking, making Valerie even angrier, "Yea, just keep running away! That'll erase ALL your problems!"

**……………………**

**Faint…  
**Failed school works, ghost attacks gone wrong, a job he hates, ignorant parents, and a school bully, Danny pondered all these thoughts as he finished bandaging the reminders of his wounds. Stupid Skulker. Stupid ghosts. Stupid everything. He struggled his way out of the bathroom, his muscles once again aching. He felt like he was seeing double at this point. He staggered to walk to his room which was only a few feet away, but the very energy he had seem to be leaving his very body…again. Sounds around him were muffled and he felt the floor rising or was he falling? That was the least of his concern when the next thing he knew, he saw nothing but blackness. Danny has fallen…  
**To Be Continued…**

**………………**

**Author's Note:  
**1.) I wanted to explore the Danny/Vlad relationship...as in father and son, thank you very much. I have nothing against Danny's parents, but Danny and Vlad's relationship interest me. It's so complex and intriguing it's hard not to do a fanfic based on it.

2.) Not to mention I also wanted to deal with Danny himself. The thing I always didn't like about Danny in the show is that despite some 40+ episodes he's been in, he hardly EVER gets a character development. It's absolutely sad when others develop around him, but he himself stays the same regardless. It's not only boring, but ridiculous. This is the main reason why Danny is considerably older.

3.) Whether or not I will continue this fanfic is entirely on you people. If I get good enough responses, I will continue. If not...well, I probably won't. Man, I already got another fanfic under my belt, among other art stuff...whew...I got my work cut out for me.

4.) Oh, if you're curious to see what Danny's DP wear I described in the fanfic looks like, there's a link to my drawing of it in my profile.


	2. So you finally snapped, ey?

**Pocket Watch  
So you finally snapped, ey?**

**Stress, is that your excuse?  
**"…Blood Pressure rose up…"  
"…Seems to be stressed in my observation…"  
"…..Try to cut back on a few meals and…"  
"…Sleep….should be fine…"

The doctor's words drooled on as Danny slowly gain consciousness, only to fall back into his current state, only to gain brief consciousness again. He seemed to be drifting on and off. Each time he opened his eyes, he was in a different area with a different scenario. The doctor's office, the family RV, and finally, his room where he woke up, finding himself in his bed, blanket up to his neck. Someone must've put his pajamas for him as he observed the clothes he was currently wearing.

Feeling groggy, Danny left the bed and stumbled over to the bathroom. The bandages he had put on himself earlier were still there, his hair was a colossal mess of tangles and waves, his face was as a pale as…well, a ghost, and his eyes had the biggest bags this side of the Addams' Family. That said, at least he felt slightly better, slightly as in he was on the verge of throwing up, but not overall tired or seemingly lacking in energy. I mean, what was all that about? Ever since Technus made light of his growing powers some months back, Danny has been keeping record over it, every single use of his powers sans for maybe flight seems to zap him in some way. The more he uses it, the bigger he uses it, the worse he gets. Even his ghostly wail which he has improved over in the near two years since he's had it reverted him back into his human state and subjectively caused him to collapse to his knees. That hasn't happened to him for about a year now. Could what the doctor said be true? Were stress and his constant pessimistic attitude he's had for months now been having some sort of effect on his powers which in term was affecting his body? Danny let out a loud groan and slammed his head on the bathroom mirror.

He started to remember more past events that caused him to be the way he was now. That stupid fight with Dash and his best friends…when the three separated because of him…

**………………**

**An Unsatisfied Revenge  
**Perhaps Danny's memory was a bit foggy due to his current condition, but he really couldn't remember when Dash first picked on him. I guess it shows Dash has been breathing down Danny's neck for some time. He was always bigger then him (even when Danny had gained some slight muscles from all the fighting and training), taller then him (even when Danny had grown a few inches over the two years now since he became Phantom), and stronger then him (even when Danny had been fighting and training). The last one was a virtual unknown at that time. He's definitely gotten stronger both in his human half and ghost half, but trying to stay out of trouble and his growing cautiousness, Danny never picked a fight with Dash. Sure, he gives verbal abuses in most cases, but he usually ends up face first in a trash can or stuffed in a locker, refusing to throw a punch. Despite Tucker's constant suggestion to use his ghost powers like he did previously in his younger years to get revenge on him; that thought left Danny's head more and more over the course of time. After all, the abuse of his powers almost landed him as his evil incarnation whom he met two years back. Danny still had terrible memories of THAT event.

That said his day in school went about as crummy as possible. His increasing anger left out feared marks on both Tucker and Sam's face. Never had they seen their friend so peeved before in their entire lives.  
"Danny's like a soda bottle." Tucker once said as he shaking his Coca-Cola, "Sooner or later…he's gonna pop." He opened the can and the coke spewed all over Sam.  
"Oops."  
"Nice." Sam muttered. She gazed around, hopelessly looking for Danny to join them for lunch, "What is he doing? Extra work?"  
"Or fighting ghosts…and not even contacting us for help." Tucker mumbled, crossing his arms, disappointed.  
"Well, we shouldn't be seating around here, we should be helping him…wherever he is."  
"I'm disappointed he didn't contact us, but then I remember he's not in the best of moods, I wonder if it's wise to go out and find him."

Before Sam could respond to that, a massive CRASH occurred as a black suited figure flew straight through the lunchroom's many windows, landing harshly on one of the lunch table, the one reserved mostly for the popular, well known kids. Danny let out a massive groan while popular girl Paulina squealed something delightful.  
"Ghost boy, you're here!" She squeaked, eyes wide and lavishing, hands cupped together, cheeks blushing, "I knew you'd come for me." She tried to wrap her arms around Danny, but he casually and slowly pushed her arms away. Without saying a word, he flew away and returned minutes later as his human half.  
Everybody was staring at the broken window and the shattered pieces of glass all over the floor. Mr. Lancer at this point managed to back the students away from it, getting the janitor to clean it up.  
"I suggest you all take your lunches to the outside lunch room." Lancer pointed out. With that said, the students took their back packs and foods outside.  
"Danny Phantom was SO close to me today." Danny heard Paulina gush over, "He didn't let me touch him, but I just know he's playing hard to get."  
"I wonder who he was fighting? I bet he kicked a lot of ass." Dash grinned. Well, at least Dash's respect for his ghost half reminded, as well as Paulina's crush on Phantom. Although over the years, his crush on Paulina has died, so the latter was of little concern to him. Right now, he had to deal with his friends…and a small headache.

"You know, you could have told us you were fighting a ghost." Sam said, "…Did he or she get away again?"  
"Yes, and I didn't feel like calling for you guys." Danny said. The three found a spot to seat. The April weather gave a sunny feeling, as the air was neither too cold, nor too hot. Perfect spring weather.  
"Why, would we have been too much of a bother?" Tucker asked, slightly offending.  
"Tucker…"  
"Are we too annoying?"  
"Tucker…"  
"Do we piss you off seeing as how whenever we even open our mouths, we seem to drive you up the wall or maybe we—"  
"TUCKER! SHUT UP!"  
For once, the techno geek took in that advice and clamped his lips shut. Danny glared dangerously at Tucker, looking as though he should put him on the top of his murder list. Tucker meanwhile eyed away from Danny, swearing he saw a small glimpse of red in his friend's eyes. The two remained quiet for the duration of the lunch period. Danny barely ate half of his sandwich before he declared he wasn't hungry and went over to dump the food. Unfortunately, he butted heads with Dash again, as if the blonde boy planned this. Of course, knowing his absolutely lust for pummeling Danny, it didn't surprise the smaller boy.

"Watch it, FenTURD; I had this jacket cleaned yesterday." Dash cried out.  
"Your jacket comments are starting to tire me, why not try a new routine?" Danny said sarcastically, with a hint of venom in his mouth. His facial expression showed he was far from caring at this point. Predictably, Dash grabbed Danny again by the back of his shirt collar as he was about to walk away and was about to once again dump him in the trash can.  
"Here we go again." Tucker sighed.  
"Every time you make a crack at me, it's down in the dumpster for you." Dash cackled as he shoved Danny in. Again, a roar of laughter rang out. Danny hastily pulled himself from the trash can and removed the various scraps, banana peels, and unidentified mush off his clothes.  
"What's the matter, FenTARD?" Dash said, mocking as he gave off a fake look of concern, "Does baby need a bib for his food? Or maybe another round of "Trash the 'Tard?"  
"Go to hell." Danny said, surprisingly in an eerily calm, casual voice.  
"Wrong answer, Fenton!" Dash said, grabbing Danny by the front of his shirt collar this time, "In my book, wrong answers are punishable by toothless mouths, so prepare to kiss your teeth good-bye." Dash raised his other free hand, recoil it back, and sent it straight for Danny's mouth. Danny would have fallen to the floor if not for Dash and his firm grip on his shirt. Instead, he got another pummel in the face. The punches repeated in a rhythmic pattern as various kids crowded around, mostly cheering on the one-sided fight. Dash cackled over each punch, confident in his abilities and enjoying seeing bruises and a bloody nose on Danny.  
"Ooh, why doesn't he just fight back!" Valerie cried out.  
"Hey, he's not some mindless 12 year old, Valerie." Sam pointed out.  
Her words were spoken too soon. Dash recoiled for a final punch, the coup de grace, but as soon as he's fist neared Danny's face, a hand engulfed his and blocked the attack. Everything seemed to play in slow motion for Dash as he slowly gazed around to see whose hand that was. Dash's eyes opened wide when he saw Danny himself was blocking Dash's attacks. He then eyed Danny's face, the face of a warrior, not a 16 year old boy. The face of a very PISSED off warrior. Before he could fully grasp what was happening, Danny flung Dash over his head where he landed on the grass, staining his pants. The crowd dropped in dead silence. Dash, defeated by Danny? Impossible!  
Dash staggered as he got up, spitting the grass out of his mouth.  
"Alright, you wanna get serious with me?" Dash growled, "You think you got the guts to beat me?"  
"I don't think, I know." Was Danny's answer. His voice had a sense of confidence and malice that it intimidated Dash. He shook it off and immediately dived towards Danny. Danny dodged Dash's charge, grabbed his extending arm, and drop kicked him in the guts. The crowd went wild with mixed emotions. Dash struggled to get up again and tried once again to go on the offense. He managed to succeed in pushing Danny up against a wall, but using that to his advantage, Danny lifted up his legs and kicked him hard on the chest. Dash staggered backwards, but didn't get time to rest as Danny continued from his kick with a spin kick, then a harsh two hit blow with his fists.  
"Whoa." Was Valerie's response, "When did he get so good at fighting? When did Danny even know how to fight?"  
"You wouldn't believe us if we told ya…or if we did, you'd be horribly peeved." Tucker muttered.  
"What?"  
"Nothing."  
Dash now had his equal share of a bloody nose and bruises. Dash got in a few swings here and there, but he was shocked both from Danny fighting back and his sudden spontaneous burst of knowledge in marital arts (as far as Dash was concerned, anyways). Danny noticed Dash was staggering, dizzy from the attacks, but not yet fallen, so much like that of so many Mortal Kombat characters. He didn't understand why he suddenly had the ability to kick someone's butt so easily when he couldn't even defeat any of the ghosts he's faced for some time. Perhaps he was angry, more angry then he's ever been in his entire life, or perhaps it's because Dash was just a normal kid, not a ghost with extraordinary powers. Whatever the case was, Danny nearly delivered his final blow if not for a burly hand grabbing onto it. Danny turned around and saw an extremely agitated Lancer.

The walk to the principal's office was nothing short of unpleasant for Maddie and Jack. There they were told of Danny getting in a fight and literally tenderizing Dash's body. The ride home was a quiet one, but upon them entering their home and closing the front door, screams, shouts, and all kinds of manners of verbal abuse took place.  
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SUCH A THING!" Maddie cried out, "WHAT HAVE WE TOLD YOU ABOUT VIOLENCE, YOUNG MAN?"  
"YEA! ONLY TIME YOU ATTACK IS AT A GHOST! A GHOST!" Jack added in.  
"WHAT DOES IT MATTER ANYMORE?" Danny shouted, "I'M GROUNDED AND I CAN NEVER LEAVE MY ROOM…WHICH IS JUST WHAT YOU GUYS WANTED ANYWAYS! YOU NEVER PAY ATTENTION TO ME!"  
"What!" Maddie snapped from her anger to confusion, "What on Earth are you talking about?"  
"Forget it." Danny said sternly, teeth gritting, "It's just as well that I have to get in trouble to gain your attention. How pathetically sad. Once I'm in my room, you'll forget about me ANYWAYS!"  
Danny then harshly went upstairs and slammed the door. The headache he had earlier after the fight with the previous ghost increased. He didn't care if it was from the stress or the possible energy zapping from his ghost powers, he just laid in bed, closing his eyes tightly.

**Fine, be that way  
**After about a week's suspension from school, Danny returned, looking stern as usual. He immediately noticed kids staring at him as he walked down the hallway to his locker, most of them backing away out of fear. Dash, who earlier was raving about how he could have taken down Danny cringed in fear and backed away when he came nearby. The blond boy was looking a lot worse off then Danny (who merely managed to get off with a few scraps and bruises) as Dash had on a sling for his arm and a neck brace. Danny obviously wasn't pleased with the entire student body eyeing him like an attraction at some freak circus show. After all, how many kids do you see in your school able to bust off someone's kneecaps? That said, half of Danny's mind didn't seem to care. He grabbed his books and left.

Anytime he was with Sam and Tucker, their reactions were mostly silent as well. This part irritated Danny that by lunchtime, he practically snapped.  
"Why are you treating me like the others are?" Danny stood up from his seat.  
"Huh?" Tucker replied in typical Tucker fashion.  
"Why are you staring at me like some freak?" Danny continued, "Why aren't you talking to me? It's not like you haven't seen me fight before!"  
"Well, fighting…ghosts (which she whispered)…is different from fighting people." Sam chimed in, "This is so unlike you. In fact, for months, you've been getting crankier and upset."  
"Well, I've been through A LOT these past few months, so how about a little slack?"  
"No."  
Danny was shocked at Sam's stern reply. She too stood up, upset and angry as well. Hands placed on her waist, she started to speak her piece.  
"Danny, I know you're stressed, I know your angry and hurt because of it, I know your family hasn't been paying attention to you lately, I know you're tired and edgy, but that doesn't give you the excuse to take your anger out on us!" Danny remained silent as she continued, "We're your friends and as annoying as we may be to you right now, we're just trying to help!"  
"How can you help? How could you POSSIBLY understand what I'm going through, huh?"  
"Hey, you're not the only teenager who's got buttload of homework, is ignored by their family, and—"  
"You don't LIVE the way I DO, SAM! I'm not LIKE other teenagers!" Sam tried to stubble through, trying to find the right words, but her tongue was tied. Instead, she stopped muttering and remained silent. By this point, everyone eyed in Danny's direction.  
"I didn't think so." Danny said, "If you can't tolerate me, then why don't you just leave me?"  
"You know what, I think I will." Sam said picking up her back pack. She immediately left. Danny glared at Tucker who gave off more of a saddened face then anything else. He, too grabbed his bag though and left, following after Sam. As everyone else stared at Danny after his only two friends left, Danny took his bag and walked the other way.

After that, they haven't kept contact…

**………………**

**That is the LAST straw  
**That was how he lost his friends. All because his anger got the best of him. Danny once again slammed his head on the mirror and let out a whimpered groan. Danny left the bathroom and got dressed. It was a beautiful Saturday and he was no longer grounded, but that didn't possess Danny to leave the house. Maybe he was too ashamed. That said, he felt awfully cold despite the warm spring weather, so he huddled himself with a jean jacket. Feeling awfully lonely, Danny headed to the main living room where his parents were busy arguing about, what else, ghosts. Jazz was on the couch, nose buried in a thick book as was her style. Usually when she couldn't stop Maddie and Jack from fighting herself, she'd usually ignore it. Even she had her limits.

No friends, failed grades, school bully, pathetic ghost fighting, all those thoughts entered into his head. His crappy life. His family ignoring him, but they were the only people he could talk with without leaving the house. Would it work this time around? Was he that desperate to talk to someone? Will they show sympathy considering he just came back from the hospital?  
"Ahem."  
"What are you talking about? That ghost was RIGHT there and you didn't even put on the offense!" Jack shouted.  
"I was TRYING to protect you!" Maddie argued back.  
"HEY! I don't need protection; my body can take a lot of damage!"  
"Oh, don't you sass back at me! Not everything is offense, offense, OFFENSE!"  
"In MY book, it is!"  
"Ahem."  
"OOOH, THAT'S IT!" Jazz slammed her book, "I can't STAND the two of you arguing over such mundane things!"  
"If you're so annoyed by it, you could have just gone to your room." Jack said, irritated.  
"Trust me, I would be able to hear you if I went halfway around the world." Jazz said, "Who CARES who got the ghost or not? You can always get him next time."  
"That's not the point, the point is I'm right and your father is wrong!"  
"No, I'M RIGHT and your mother is WRONG. DEAD WRONG!"  
"AHEM!"  
"How about both of you are right…or wrong—whatever!"  
"OH, so you're gonna choose your mother's side, ey?"  
"I didn't say that!"  
"Then your father's?"  
"AHEM!"  
"I didn't say that, I—"  
"—Ghosts attack gone wrong, if you only—"  
"—If you just listen—"  
"AHEM!"  
"Stop arguing…so mundane—"  
"—Offense—"  
"—Maybe if you—"  
"—YOU—"  
"—I—"  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Maddie, Jack, and Jazz stopped arguing in the middle of Danny's scream. By the time he was done, the three stared at him with mouths wide opened. Danny meanwhile was breathing hard, his cheeks rosy red. He eyed the three who still kept silent, so Danny took this to his advantage and let loose all hell.  
"THIS IS CRAZY!" Danny cried, "Is this ALL you EVER DO? Waltz around doing whatever crap you're doing and ignoring me? Well, I'm SICK AND TIRED OF IT! I've been going through SO much crap over the past months and it's just now that I have to let ALL this rage out. This is bull. I'm TIRED of being ignored; I'm TIRED of yelling at the top of my lungs to gain your attention like I'm doing now! I'm TIRED, PERIOD!"  
"Danny…" Jazz softly said, "W-We didn't know."  
"Of course you didn't know!" Danny shoved his face near Jazz's, "You three have been TOO busy with your own crap to pay ANY attention to me! Arguing over ghosts and on who's right or not and when you're not doing that, you're showering Jazz with affections because she's graduating and going off to a…a…smart college. And Jazz, you just LOVE that your parents are FINALLY basking you with love that doesn't concern ghosts but your intelligence! Well, I'm through with it! THROUGH, YOU HEAR?"  
With that said, Danny marched to his room and slammed the door again.

It took the family some two hours or so before they all had the courage to knock on Danny's door.  
"Danny, sweetie…are you still in there?" Maddie asked, "We just want to talk." Silence.  
"Danny, son, it's me, Jack." Jack pounded the door.  
"Dad, he knows who you are, he can hear you." Jazz gently pushed him aside and knocked as well, "Come on, Danny, open the door." Nothing.  
"That does it, young man, you are NOT taking this in like a grown up!" Jack said, "I'm breaking this door down!"  
"NO!" Both Maddie and Jazz cried. Too late, using his tremendous girth, Jack tore Danny's door from its hinges. Surprising all three, the Fenton family found no trace of Danny. They immediately noticed the open window. All three raced over and observed.  
"Oh-No." Maddie gasped. As the two parents gazed outside, Jazz observed around his room, looking for some sort of clue or anything Danny might have left behind. Some of his stuff was missing as well as a couple of his traveling bags. She then gazed upon a regular piece of loose leaf paper resting on his pillow.  
"Mom, Dad!" She urged. The two quickly ran over and stood behind Jazz as she read the note.

"_Leaving the house, although I doubt you three would care. Where I'm going, I'm not telling. When I'll come back, God only knows. I'm just too angry to deal with my current life. Too hurt to be with the ones I'm most familiar with. I need to go away and think for a while or something. Don't bother calling the cops; I don't need the added chaos. I can take care of myself._

_--Danny." _

Maddie, not able to take in all this, sat down on Danny's bed. Jack placed a comforting arm on her shoulder. Jazz just stood there, lowering her head, clutching onto the note.

**………………**

**Unexpected  
**It was the crack of dawn when a black convertible was driving past the rural country side, past the many farms, past the small country stores, and over to a lone castle manor located near the woods. After parking his car, a man dressed in a stylish black suit with a matching suitcase walked out of his fancy car. After such a long meeting miles away from Wisconsin, Vlad was glad to be back home. He walked up the familiar road, walked the familiar path, and saw the familiar double doors that led to his house. However, he didn't expect the unfamiliar sight of a 16 year old black haired boy lying down in front of the doors, resting his head on his backpack, cuddled in a fetal position, jacket over his upper body to warm himself as he slept away.  
For a brief moment, Vlad just stood there, stunned, unable to muster any idea of what to do. It was when Danny moved the jacket closer to him that Vlad reacted. He walked around Danny and unlocked the door. Placing his suitcase nearby, Vlad lifted up Danny and took him inside.  
**To Be Continued…**

**………………**

**Author's Note: **Well, I seem to have gotten a nice share of reviews, so I decided to continue, so here's Part Two. 'Nuff said.


	3. My Worst Enemy is my Ally

**Pocketwatch  
****My Worst Enemy is my Ally**

**You and I**

Hunger pulled Danny mercilessly out of the blissful nothingness of sleep, causing him to struggle restlessly before finally prying his eyes open.

He found himself wrapped warmly in bed by a semi-thick light blue blanket as he slowly rose up from his deep sleep, observing his surroundings afterwards. A generally big room fit for a prince. A large indigo carpet graced the hard floor. Next to Danny's bed stood a stumpy drawer containing a clock and a lamp. A tea table sat across from Danny with its chair neatly placed, as well as two tea cups and a long kettle. One of the chairs held his main bag while the rest casually lay next to it like a group of lapdogs. His jacket wrapped the chair. There was a large open window to the right of Danny where the wind calmly blew the silk laden curtains, one door leading to the bathroom in the left, and a bookshelf next to it, containing old, leather bound books. Even the walls contained complicated decoration, one of which held a painting of the Dairy King. He seemed to be everywhere when it came to this place. He recognized this room as the same room he slept in two years prior or an exact replica, seeing as this manor has blown up at least once in it's lifetime.

With a wary groan, Danny pushed the blanket off of him, and immediately regretted it as a tremendous pain shot through his head. He clutched at his forehead, and sighed. It felt too warm. Did he have a fever? Or was he just warm from sleeping? He didn't know, and at the moment he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was stop the pain in his stomach.

He gently placed his feet down, shivering the moment his flesh made contact with the cold floor. He constantly clutched his forehead every now and then just incase since before he's first faint, these sort of things were rare occurrences, usually only happening from fatigue over a long battle. Walking down the hallway and having not stayed in Vlad's manor for so long caused Danny to wander around for a while before ultimately finding the main dining hall where Vlad was, sitting in the center hair, sipping orange with one hand, the other gripping the local newspaper, a plate of half eaten food inches from him resting on the white clothes table. Danny stayed near the entrance of the dining room, keeping a good distant between him and Vlad (who, by the way, had his back facing the boy).

"Good morning, Daniel." Vlad casually start, still in the same position he was before. Danny didn't move, insecure and suspicious of Vlad's motives, despite the irony behind the boy's willingness to even step a foot in Vlad's presence.  
"Are you hungry?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Are you hungry?"  
"Y-Yeah."

Vlad placed the newspaper on the table, picked up his plate and cup and walked to the kitchen where he took off his black overcoat. He grabbed a white apron nearby and started to rummage through the fridge. Danny slowly walked over and merely eyed him. What a strange sight to see; a billionaire wearing the fanciest of black coats and shiny matching shoes donning an apron and cooking breakfast. If Danny had little idea on Vlad's personality, he'd have been surprised, but he knew very well who Vlad was, a lonely old man.

"Bacon and eggs fine for you?" Vlad asked, "…Daniel?"  
"Hmm? Yeah, sure." Danny quickly said, stuttering a bit. Vlad managed what looked like a smile and cracked the eggs. Danny took a seat next to the Vlad's chair. He waited, merely by lowering his head down and eyeing the dark brown polished oak that made this table. Of course, he wasn't paying attention to that; he was paying attention to his own reflection which composed of a frown to reflect his current hatred of the world, or maybe he just hated himself. He raised his eyebrows a bit and ended up making himself look more upset then angry. Letting out a scoff, he continued to work on his facial expression until Vlad gently laid down his breakfast, eggs and bacon like he said, as well as a glass of orange juice and a pair of utensils. Danny eyed the food, half pondering if the old man dipped it in arsenic before Vlad urged him to eat. Taking the knife and fork, he gorged the bacon down his throat.

"You could have just phased in." Vlad started after a few minutes of silence. Danny finished chewing his food before speaking.  
"I didn't wanted to be rude." He spoke through muffled mouth, his cheeks as big as a chipmunk from shoving several bacons all at one time.  
"Didn't…wanted to be rude? Mr. Always-attacks-me-whenever-you-even-see-the-reds-of-my-eyes?"

Danny remained silent, answering by drinking the last remaining contents of his orange juice. Vlad eyed him patiently, waiting for something to come out of his mouth. When that proved fatal, Vlad spoke again.

"How did you get here?"  
"I stole a car." Vlad threw his head back a bit.  
"I flew, Vlad. Relax…then again; stealing is right up your forte, so maybe I'm saying it all wrong."  
Vlad made a frown and another set of silence took place.  
"I'll just cut to the chase, what on earth are you doing here?"  
"Why? You don't want me to live with you?"  
"It's almost too good to be true, there has to be a catch."  
"No catch, I just want to live with you."  
"Daniel."

Vlad stared directly into Danny's eyes. There's something about the baggy, eyeliner-like eyes of Vlad that could make a rogue elephant cower.

"…I ran away from home." The boy answered in a defeated manner, lowering his head down in shame.  
"I see." The older male crossed his arms and got himself comfortable, "Why?"

Again Danny remained silent. Was he too ashamed to speak of his current crappy life or afraid that those reasons alone would cause Vlad to get angry towards him? After all, he came to Vlad more of a sense to runaway from his current life.

"I just…needed to get away."  
"Get away from what?" Vlad asked, his voice slightly irritated.  
"From life and stuff." Danny finished the last of his eggs and placed his utensils down.  
"Be more specific." Vlad said, coming closer to Danny with poison in his already hypnotizing eyes.  
"Can't you just be happy that I'm here?" Danny asked, his voice also rising. He stood up and started to walk away, but Vlad quickly grabbed him by his arm.  
"Daniel! If you want to live here, then I have to know what's wrong with you!"  
"Let me go!"  
"NO."  
"I CAN go intangible and fly out of here!"  
"So can I. Now tell me what's wrong." He tightened his grip, having started to lose patience for the boy who was on the verge of tears.  
"NO!"  
"Daniel!"  
"NO!"  
"DANIEL!"  
"I JUST WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL!" Danny shouted, the tears he was trying to hold back finally letting loose. Shocked at this sudden burst combined with Danny's whimpers, Vlad loosened his grip on the boy's arm, but still held it firmly, "My friends hate me, my grades are failing, my parents are idiots, especially dad, my sister doesn't care about me, I can't do my job as Danny Phantom, I have a crappy "second" job at the Nasty Burger, and I keep fainting!"  
"Wait, what was that thing you said?" Vlad gasped.  
"My friends hate me?"  
"No, after."  
"I can't do my job as Danny Phantom?"  
"NO, before!"  
"My parents are idiots, especially dad?"  
"THAT'S the one." Vlad smirked, then he let go of Danny's arms and extended his own, "Welcome to your new home."  
"Very funny." Danny said, his attitude less then favorable, "I just wanted to get away from it all, and so I decided to come here."  
"Why here?"  
"What do you think? No one cared about me. No one wanted to pay attention. I figured you would." Danny's last words gave a hint of a scared child wanting his security blanket back, though this did little to fully convince Vlad.  
"…I know I'm being selfish." Danny muttered, "But right now, I don't care."  
"Well…we're all selfish." Vlad said in a relaxed tone, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"  
"Ugh…if you want me to leave, then fine. I'll find some other place." Danny spoke through gritted teeth.  
"No, no, stay. I meant…how do you know I won't take advantage of you?"  
"I came here willingly, didn't I? I'm giving you the chance to bask your love to me, isn't that what you wanted?"  
Vlad remained silent, cocking an eyebrow, staring at his equal opponent.  
"…Alright then, you can stay here for as long as you need. Your room will be the one you just slept in."  
"Thanks." Danny started to head back upstairs, but not before giving a small warning, "Vlad, I'm gonna leave if you make me do something I'll regret."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I don't know, like try to convince me to kill dad or something."

As he slowly climbed the stairs, wishing he'd have had the sense to ask for some Advil with breakfast for the headache, he reflected on the recent conversation. He'd come here alright, but as far as trusting Vlad? Not the first thing on his agenda. It would take quite the miracle and a lot of time for that to happen.

Meanwhile, Vlad watched the door Danny had walked through for a little while before he shrugged back into his overcoat while pondering over one of the things Danny said, and not knowing quite what to make of it. "_I keep fainting_."

………………………

**A Child needs his Education**

For three days, all Danny did was stay in Vlad's castle manor, as if he was in permanent lockdown. He didn't feel the need to go outside out of embarrassment, having ridiculous fears that his family and friends might ambush him from the bushes out on the front yard and drag him home.

Not to mention he flew from Amity Park to Wisconsin which was a three day trip by car alone, so that sucked a lot of his energy away. Baring those reasons in mind, the teenager took the time to scan the castle and give himself an unguided tour ("This man needs a conveyer belt built into this house."), although as each day passed, Danny was increasingly growing restless as the manor started to get tedious and he had a powerful urge to fly grew.

Whenever he felt stressed or felt the need to get away from all the responsibilities the world has put on his shoulders, Danny would often fly, letting the wind blow past his ears as he enjoyed the calmness he brought forth to him with only occasional bugs flying into his mouth. But after the recent faints and Technus' ominous words to him, Danny grew extremely fearful to even turn into his ghost half which again contributed to his restless feelings.

Tediously staring at Packers collection and violet wall paints finally broke when Vlad entered Danny's room on the third night.  
"Daniel?"  
"Yes?"  
"How long do you plan to stay here?"  
"Why, do you really want me to leave? Are you that annoyed with me already?" He crossed his arms.  
"Daniel, would you stop assuming so much?"  
"…Sorry…" Danny softly said, dropping his arms, "I don't know how long I'm staying. I haven't decided. Why?"  
"Well, I figured depending on how long you stay, I'd send you to school." Danny raised one of his eyebrows.  
"And since you don't know how long you're staying, I best ask you regardless until we both agree to something."  
"Where do you plan to send me?"

Vlad walked over and placed a pamphlet on Danny's lap. Danny eyed the front cover which held a picture of a clean, high and mighty looking high school. Graced on the top were large black prints that read, "_Madison Private High, the growing environment for young adults everywhere_."  
"You want to send me to a private school?" Danny asked in a slight offended tone.  
"I know you still have some month and a half left until your sophomore year is over, but school is still school and as long as you live under my roof, you're going." Vlad placed his hands on his waist like a typical parent would when lecturing their child. Danny opened the booklet and read it's contents.  
"I know it's unorthodox for you to suddenly transfer into a private school, but I figure with your current personality, I think you could stand to tolerate it." Vlad said.  
"…I can't go in as Danny Fenton." Danny said waving his arms around in an exhausted manner, "That'll draw attention to my friends and family. I don't want them to know I'm here…not yet anyways."  
"Daniel, you'll have to tell them eventually."  
"Eventually, but eventually is not now." Danny eyed Vlad sternly, "If you want me to go to school, I am NOT going as Danny Fenton."  
"So you want me to lie and create a fake name for you, is that it?" Vlad said, half shocked, half amused. Such a decision that Vlad himself would probably do if he were in the teen's shoes.  
"No, I don't want YOU to create a fake name for me. I can do it myself." Danny said with a vote of confidence and control. It certainly threw Vlad back a bit.  
"And when do you propose to do that, young man?" He said, arms on waist again.  
"I…I don't know." Danny said.  
"Fine then, you got till the end of April to decide." Vlad said, taking the pamphlet and placing it on the drawer next to the bed, "That's about a week and half, choose well."

**Flight**

Unless he could miraculously gain special permission from Vlad, three rooms were off-limits to Danny. Obviously, one of them was the secret lab followed by Vlad's room and his private study. He warned Danny to not even think of _'going ghost'_ to enter any of the rooms, even as far as adding security cameras as an added safety precaution.

"Okay, I can understand the lab and in some cases, your room, but why can't I go in your private studies?" Danny asked.  
"Well, the word "private" is a pretty good reason enough." Vlad answered.  
"What can you possibly have in there that you don't want me to see?" Danny pointed to the windowed double door leading to the private sanction, "…Are there blueprint plans to kill my father…or some new inventions you have to use on me?"  
"Just don't go inside." Vlad said sternly.

Another couple of days passed and after observing his manor until he got about eighty percent of the area memorized in his head, Danny finally snapped, got up from his bed, and opened his window to the outside balcony. He titter-totter over to the edge of the banister that separated him and the 30 foot drop below, climbing on top of it. Closing his eyes and spreading his arms, Danny purposely fell. During mid fall, he started to transform, his loose clothing replaced with a modified black jumpsuit, his hair turned from black to white, and upon opening his eyes, it turned from his natural color of blue to green. Danny was some 10 feet away from being splattered, but with added concentration, Danny defined gravity and flew upwards towards the sky. He flew past the highest of trees until he could literally touch the clouds. He was flying.

Forget the stress; forget his family and friends, forget Vlad, right now, all he cared about was the wind in his hair, how tiny everyone looked from below, and how magnificent it was to fly. Men have always wanted to conquer flight. Danny was one of the rare lucky few who given such a gift. Traveling at some 100 plus miles an hour, able to twist, turn, and do 360 degrees spin, Danny's adrenaline rushed up. Forget roller coasters or driving at the 80 miles per hour, once you flew, those things were tame in comparison. He didn't care about anything; he just wanted a sense of peace and paradise, if not for a few minutes.

Adding to the not caring portion of Danny's brain, he obviously didn't tell Vlad he went out, so when Vlad walked upstairs to his room with a tray of lunch, and saw nothing but an empty room, he immediately dropped the tray and scanned the room until he saw the blowing curtains from the open window.  
Vlad let out a giant gasp and immediately ran over to the balcony. He managed to find a tiny speck flying about in impossible angles, doing back flips and do 360 turns. Vlad let out a huge sign of relieved gasp, clutching his chest as his beating heart slowed down. After he calmed down, Vlad settled his elbows down on the banister and merely watched, compelled at this young teen, using his powers not to abuse or to fight, but to entertain himself. How very like him, how very soothing. At the current moment, both of them felt a sense of peace.

However, said peace left when Danny started to stagger. Vlad didn't notice at first seeing it as some form of horseplay on the kid's part, but when he started to see his sloppy flying, that's when he leaped off the banister and turned into his alter ego, Vlad Plasimus. Like Danny, his outfit had gone through a number of changes over the years, but it still remained the opposite of Danny's black. As he got closer, Danny's movement got more drunk and disoriented until ultimately, he fainted in mid flight and started to fall, immediately turning back into his human counterpart.

"DANIEL!" Vlad screamed, speeding in warp drive as he raced to catch Danny before he'd end up as a half ghost pancake. Extending his arms, Vlad barely managed to catch Danny in time, almost accidentally dropping him from gravity's force.  
Vlad eyed Danny as he shook him up a bit. His body was limp, like that of a rag doll. Tightly holding onto the boy, he flew back to the manor…

**To Be Continued…**

………………

**Author's Note: **Chapter Three. Sorry for the long wait. Long story short, I massively reworked this and my head asploded because of it. That said, the only real thing to say is that I'll also get around to providing a link for Vlad's new wear like I did with Danny on the first chapter. I just have yet to draw it, ahahaha.

**Disclaimer:** Someone mentioned I should write a disclaimer. I shrugged and said, "Yea, ok. Better safe then sorry", so without further ado, the characters and settings are the rightful owners of Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon, and NOT me…obviously.


	4. So, I Feel Rather Conflicted

**Pocket Watch  
****So, I Feel Rather Conflicted…**

**Is Stress the main excuse…again?**

Vlad gently rested Danny in bed, paranoid that one harsh mistake could end up literally breaking him. Once he was sure Danny was well adjusted, Vlad made his way to the nearest phone located just outside of Danny's room, resting against a wall on a podium. He quickly picked it up with his right hand while his other hand rested on the podium, his index finger nervously tapping the edge as he called a doctor.

Vlad's doctor made the general same conclusion that the doctor Danny's family took him to a while ago made: stress. For Vlad though, the answer unconvinced him, feeling as though something was so…off about Danny's constant faints and general weakness. Baring that in mind, he decided to do a little doctoring of his own which consisted of him taking some of Danny's blood with a needle from his lab (while he was still unconscious) and working on his own conclusive theory to Danny's current predicament.

Danny woke up the next day, again feeling groggy and nauseous. He found himself back in his room which surprised and confused him. Touching the side of his head, he pondered over the blank memory between now and when he was flying, how he got here, what he did during those time, and was it anything bad? Before he had the chance to theorize any of the questions rumbling inside his head, he felt a disturbing churning from inside his stomach. Immediately, he clutched his mouth and ran straight for the bathroom.

Afraid for his life, Danny spent the reminder of the day in his room, not even bothering to search for Vlad who as far as he was concerned, pretty much disappeared (which didn't comfort him any further). The older male was in the lab, eyeing the blood he took from Danny through a high powered microscope, magnifying it until he could see Danny's DNA structure. The discovery he found was nothing less then shocking. Vlad removed himself from the microscope and massaged his eyes before observing it once more. There it was, straight in his eyes and it seemed to be getting worse…

**………………**

**Just go with it**

"Daniel, if I may, I'd like to observe you for a bit for the next week or so." Vlad said during dinner, eyeing the boy digging his mash potatoes with a spoon, the other hand holding his face as his elbow rested on the table.  
"Observe?" Danny eyed Vlad.  
"Yes, try to see if I can help you with your fainting problem."  
"The doctors all told me it was just stress."  
"I know, I know, but I want to make my own observations, so I want to examine you for a week's time." Vlad said, moving his hand back and forth in a calming manner, "A week's time, that's all I ask." Danny eyed Vlad with a look of frustration before it melted to a more sorrow expression. He faced away from Vlad.  
"…You're hiding something from me." Danny muttered sadly.  
"I can assure you Daniel that it's for the best." Vlad answered, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.  
"You didn't answer my question."  
"…Eat your broccoli."

Vlad refused to speak any further, so Danny resumed his meal reluctantly, deciding inside his head that if Vlad's experiments towards him turned out to be part of his usual manipulative plans to either kill Jack, get Maddie, or force him into Vlad's side, he'd be out of there with Mach 3 speed.

**Utterly, frantic Chaos**

Danny wasn't too big on hospitals ever since that one incident with Spectra, but it didn't prevent him from avoiding it like Tucker does. That said, he still didn't enjoy the poking and probing Vlad utilized. Drawing numerous bloods, checking his ghost powers, and the likes, the week would be a slow, agonizing process for young Danny. It certainly didn't help that he wasn't fully aware of Vlad's intention. Indeed, whenever that man refused to speak any more then he should, that meant Vlad had something up his expensive well made black sleeves. Danny couldn't "go ghost" either as he was only allowed to be his paranormal half whenever Vlad needed to for his examination. _It was for the best, to be safe for the time,_ Vlad would say.

Naturally, the boy grew restless again, but risking his life and flying out only to faint again? That is, if his ghost half was the one thing causing him to lose consciousness, something Danny suspected from the examinations, something he was sure Vlad, too was aware of. That said, his routine composed of waking up, breakfast, watching TV or going on the internet (on his laptop, one of the items he held in his luggage), wandering around, lunch, more TV (which was painfully boring when nothing good ever was on), reading the literally thousands of books Vlad held, napping, dinner, more internet, and finally, sleep. Oh, sure, it was any teenagers dream to goof off, but do it for four days straight and the boredom started to take over.

At least by day five, he got some sense of excitement when he woke up to various screams, shouts, and yelling. He rushed out of bed, clumsily struggling to put on his shirt and pants at the same time as he hopped out of his room to see what the blazin' hell was going on. By the time he took the last step downstairs, he saw the main living room crowded with maids and butlers, each of them shouting at one another to either move said furniture, clean said dust, or generally criticize their work. In the middle of all the chaos, a frantic Vlad hastily tried to pull his jacket over his arm while carrying a briefcase with the other, and stuffing an entire bagel into his mouth using only his tongue and mouth movement.

"Vlad? What's going on?" Danny asked, walking casually over to him as he shifted his head back and forth at the league of running, shouting, frustrated maids and butlers.  
"I have to go to work which I'm already late for, breakfast is on the table, you can have whatever you want in the fridge when it comes time for lunch and dinner, don't get in the maid and butler's way, don't rough house, use your best judgment, and I'll be back around 7:30. Bye-bye!" Vlad hastily left his manor as quickly as he uttered those words, leaving behind a stunned Danny as he stood in the middle of the frantic servants with a gaped mouth.

"You just gonna stand there or you gonna move?"  
Danny snapped out of his little trance to find a middle aged maid with dark brown hair and fierce hawk-like eyes glaring at him as nudged the vacuum she was holding towards Danny's feet.

"Oh, sorry." Danny leaped out of the way and watched as the maid passed him. Needing to know what the heck was going on; he stared at all the other butlers and maids busily tilting paintings in the right order or shampooing carpets and decided to ask the vacuum maid due to their short interaction.  
"Err…what's going on?"  
"What do you think is going on?" She said with such a sharp tongue it felt like every word she spoke was meant to mentally stab Danny, "We're cleaning Masters' manor."  
"I didn't know he had so many…maids and butlers." Danny gasped, "I mean, he's usually alone."  
"He calls us every once in a while to clean up." The maid spoke, "You think one man could clean up this entire manor himself?"  
"I guess not." Danny half shrugged as he made a casual smile, pondering if he could do such a thing, seeing as he had ghost powers and all. After he shook of the thought of Vlad in a butler wear holding a feather duster, he resumed conversation with the hawk-eyed maid.  
"Hey, can I help?"  
"Can you help? I never thought I'd live to hear those words coming from this manor." The maid scoffed. She placed a hand on her hips and glared at the boy, ready to humor the child, but his look of sincerity threw her off, "…Alright, let's see what you can do." The maid observed around until she spotted a large file (filled with paper arranged in improper fashion due to Vlad's haste) resting on the dining table where Vlad had eaten earlier, his leftover eggs and bacons as evidence.  
"Here." She grabbed the file and shoved it to Danny's chest, "Make yourself useful and take that to his private studies."  
"The private…studies?" Danny's eyes widened.  
"Yes, are you deaf?"  
"Well, it's just that…I'm not…that is…" Danny's tongue tied, leaving him stuttering while an impatient maid watched, "…I'll…just go."

Danny clutched the file close to his chest and ran to the designated location, relieved to be away from the maid who seemed five seconds away from stuffing his face in the vacuum hose.

**…………………**

**A Worthwhile Discovery**

Danny found himself walking to Vlad's private study was a much more painful experience. As he took one step closer to the room, he felt like the electric chair was waiting for him with Vlad inside, ready to pull the trigger. If he ever found out, what would happen to Danny? Would he be kicked out of the manor? Where would he go? As much as it pained for him to admit, Danny's only hope lied in Vlad with the only other option is to wander around as a hobo. He COULD just turn off the security camera or cover it, but he had no desires to risk his life using his ghost powers or get Vlad to suspect him any further by wondering why his security camera was off for a brief period of time, so he decided to take the quick approach and just dump the file on his desk, then make like a banana and split.

With his plan cranking inside is head by the time he opened the doorway inside the study, Danny stiffly walked over to Vlad's desk and laid the file on top of a bunch of well written papers.

"Okay, I did it, so let's go." Unfortunately, his feet refused to budge, despite his brain urging the pair to turn the other way around. His mind then started to shift gears when Danny found himself eyeing the papers where he laid the file on. What if, indeed, they were plans to usurp Maddie, or to kill Jack, or to make Danny his son and heir? Is it such a sin to eye the papers of private affairs if it meant protecting his dearly loved ones? But hold it, he ran away from his so-called "loved ones", so in a sense, he was being slightly hypocritical.

"Oh, what am I thinking? These are my parents!" Danny clutched his head as he gritted his teeth in frustration, "Maybe one little peek." Like taking off a bandage, Danny quickly snatched one of the papers and speed read it. A sense of relieve left his head when he found the paper to be nothing more then work plans for his company. Danny took another sheet and read that as well. Same deal. He took another and another and before his mind could wander back to sane reality, Danny found himself opening his desk drawers and rummaging through bundle after bundles of papers and office objects. He desperately tried to seek some sort of evidence of Vlad's possible wrongdoings, to see if any of the three deeds he usually performs would come in the near future, but so far, he was coming off cleaner then the manor the butlers and maids were doting over.

Danny then opened the last drawer located at the bottom left of the desk. There, old photos and newspaper clippings greeted him. Danny carefully took one of the old black and white photos as he sat on the overcomplicated designed, lush red carpet. It was so worn out, having been folded and touched over the years, producing wrinkles and feeling as soft as a napkin. Still clear enough to make out, the picture held an old farm, a middle aged man in a plaid shirt and jeans, donning a goatee and dark hair, and a small boy in overalls, carrying a pitchfork in one hand and a bucket in another, also with dark hair. Danny paid particular attention to the small boy, his eyebrows raised as high as it could reach as he sat stunned.

"Vlad." He muttered in a sort of half whisper. Danny quickly then looked through the equally worn out newspaper clippings containing articles of the same topic, the one known simply as the "Masters Farm". Danny could hardly contain himself. Vlad, once lived as a country boy? This was so ironic it was almost ridiculous. Danny couldn't help but chuckle at the photo showing off the small kid of ten years in overalls, carrying a pitchfork in one hand and a bucket in another. THIS child would grow up to be the future Vladimir Masters? Billionaire entrepreneur who's known over the course of America while appearing in televisions and magazines such as TIME and Fortune? It was beyond belief. Danny shook such thoughts out of his head as he continued giggling like a schoolgirl, sticking his right arm into the drawer until he felt something smooth and cold. Danny immediately stopped giggling and eyed his hand as he fished out…

"…A pocket watch?" Danny observed the round, gold plated object in front of him. The pocket watch was tied to an equally golden chain so that it could also double as a necklace if one desired it to be. The front cover of the watch only contained a single carving of a crown on the middle bottom. The back cover held the words "MASTERS" in bold, also located on the middle bottom. With the maids and butlers far off, it gave way for a very quiet room...maybe too quiet. Danny placed the watch to his ear and found it lacking sound. No ticks, no tocks. He jiggled it for a bit before eyeing the knob on top.

"Hmm…" Danny pondered as he slowly twisted the knob a few times until he could successfully hear the ticking, "Perfect." Now for the coup de grace, the inners of the watch. Danny slowly opened the pocket watch. Typically, the actual clock ticked inside, the numbers 1-12 written in black roman numerals, the hand dials silver, and the background plain and white. On the left side was yet another old photo, this time sepia in color as it showed the young 10 year old Vlad with the same middle age man in the other photo. Could this man by Vlad's father? Danny then afterwards had another thought, one that left him chuckling again.

"So, is THIS the main reason he wanted me out of his studies?" Danny smiled, dangling the watch from its chain, "A pocket watch and old photos of himself as a kid?"  
"That's exactly why!" A large shadow loomed behind Danny who slowly turned around to face a very peeved Vlad.  
"Vlad!" Danny nervously smiled, "I…I thought you were at work?"  
"I forgot to pick up one of my files, the one you gladly took to my room on one of my maid's request." He had his hands on his waist, top half of his body lowered down to somewhat level himself with a sitting Danny.  
"I…I…was meaning to leave right after I put my file away, but—"  
"But what? You couldn't trust me enough so that you had to dig around my private affairs and find my…my…PRIVATE things! What, did my commands for you to strictly stay out of this room not enter your head? Tell me, when I speak to you, do my words go "blah blah blah"? Do you honestly hate me THAT much that you'd torture me by disobeying me!"  
"OKAY, OKAY! I'm sorry, CHILL!" Danny stood up quickly, his blood level starting to rise as much as Vlad's at this point, "I didn't mean to peek, but I don't see why you had to go off and hide this stuff? So what if you were a farm kid? That's nothing to be ashamed of!"  
"I KNOW THERE ISN'T!" Vlad raised his arms.  
"Then why are you hiding all this?" Danny asked, "Do you have some issues with the farm or this old man who I can only assume is your father?"  
"…Get out."  
"Ahh, so that's it. You have a problem with your fat—"  
"GET OUT!"  
Vlad's face turned an enormous shade of red. Already feeling some pang of guilt from disobeying Vlad's order, Danny didn't push the subject further. He placed the pocket watch on the drawer, and then quickly left the room.

Vlad placed a hand over his face as he sat on the wheeled chair next to his drawer after Danny left. He only removed his hand when he eyed the pocket watch, merely a foot away from him. Everything was silent except for the sound of its tick-tocks. Vlad hadn't winded that watch in well over 20 years.  
**To Be Continued…**

**…………………**

**Author's Note: **OKAY! OKAY! I confess! I watched WAAAAAAAAY too many _Simpsons_ episodes, so of course I'd give Vlad a farm ala Homer Simpson (who once did live in a farm). I mean, come on, Wisconsin…well, okay, I don't much about Wisconsin, but the farm thing was added as an irony as he once lived a simple life before becoming the rich, well known, well lived billionaire he is now. That said, the farm and such will play a crucial role over the future of this fanfic. I love irony.

Other then that, the only other thing to say was that this fanfic was originally going to be longer with more scenes, but I decided this would make a good cliffhanger feel, not to mention this fanfic is already loooong overdue. And yes, I WILL reveal in time what Vlad discovered about Danny's DNA soon.

Oh, and _The Simpsons_ rules.


	5. Shocking, isn't it?

**Pocket Watch  
****Shocking, isn't it?**

Security cameras revealed Danny merely observed Vlad's work papers and relics of his past, but the incident with the pocket watch that occurred hours ago failed to leave his head. Hell, Danny in general refused to leave his head, especially when he eyed the boy's DNA once again, the results largely the same as before, unfortunately far from good news. His DNA was literally starting to fall apart.

**Bingo**

"Been there, done that." Danny muttered to himself, hand on cheek as his arm supported his head, the rest of his body lying on his bed casually, his free hand tapping on the keyboard of his laptop. Being painfully lazy, Danny refused to budge from his bed or his computer. Instead, he rolled to the right and rubbed his eyes to ease the sting from staring at the laptop for some three hours straight.

Staring at the blue-violet ceiling caused Danny to be lost in his memories and thoughts. The images of his mother, father, older sister Jazz, and good friends Sam and Tucker appeared one by one like a well rehearsed play. Only then did Danny suddenly sprang up from his bed, dragged his bag from under (for he was too lazy to stuff it in the closet), rummage through it, and whip out his cell phone which he hadn't bothered to use since he moved in with Vlad's. Perhaps one little call wouldn't kill. Maybe they won't even know where he might be; maybe they won't ask so many questions, only to see if he was alright. He wouldn't be returning because he was weak, he would be…oh, who was he kidding? If he even called anyone of them, he'd be bombarded with questions and random bouts of shouts and screams. He might as well be walking the seven layers of Hell. Danny chucked the phone to the far end of his bed and lied back down, placing both hands over his face.

Danny eyed the laptop again. Out of a spontaneous and possibly subconscious decision, Danny typed in a search engine, the web content taking him to a near white website with the word 'GOOGLE' written in colorful, bold letters, usually decorated with some sort of oddities depending on what holiday or special event it might be. Danny stretched his fingers before typing in the words, "Wisconsin – Masters' Farm."

Considering how common of a surname Masters was, Danny obviously got a handful of results. Groaning, the young boy randomly clicked on links he felt were of interest until some hour and a half search, he managed to find a website detailing old newspaper articles of Wisconsin, including some headline that told of the Masters' farmhouse. The source detailed it as mostly as a dairy farm. Danny however was more interested in the address printed below a picture of an elderly man (possibly Vlad's grandfather) going by the name of Abraham.

"Bingo." The boy grinned as he took out a notepad and wrote all this down.

**……………………**

**Goin' Out**

"I'm going out." Danny said the next day as he headed for the front doors, dressed in dark shorts, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap.  
"Mm-hmm." Vlad nodded as he raised his cup of coffee to his lips before realizing the situation the boy could be getting into, so he slammed the cup down and turned around, "Wait-WHAT?"

"I'm going out." Danny repeated, stopping to address Vlad before moving again. Vlad immediately shoved his way out of his chair, struggling to get out due to not pushing it back. He fell after pulling his last leg out, but he quickly picked himself up so that he could catch up to him and block his path.  
"WHERE are you going?" Vlad asked, hands on waist as he stretched his body as high as possible to bring about an intimating air while lowering his face down to Daniel.  
"Out." Danny said in such a casual manner.  
"Out WHERE?"  
"Since I only lived here for like three weeks, I don't know…just out." Danny sternly answered, arms crossed, "Relax Vlad, I won't risk my life and use my powers, I won't get in trouble, I won't do anything stupid in general, you can trust me." And with that, the boy walked pasted Vlad.

Vlad just stood perfectly still, hands still on waist, one eye half closed, one eyebrow raised, the other lowered, lips clenched tight as he stood in silence for some ten seconds, pondering over Danny's words.

"Daniel…"

Danny stopped, let out a frustrated groan, and faced Vlad. He walked over, took Danny's hand, and gave him a set of keys, ones which Danny recognized immediately.

"…Car keys?" Danny gasped, eyeing the holy grail of teenage luxury on his hands, "Y-You're giving me the keys to your convertible?" Vlad's face quickly lowered closer to Danny's.  
"Don't scratch it, don't joyride in it, don't lollygag in it, don't crash it, and don't do ANYTHING to it but drive." Vlad said with a hint of venom, "I expect that vehicle back in one piece or so help me, no amount of ghosts powers will save you from a sound grounding." However intimidating his voice sounded, Danny's face lit up like a Christmas light.  
"THANK YOU, VLAD!" Danny squealed, "And thank you…for trusting me!" He then bolted out the door leaving a befuddled, yet sincerely happy man. Happiness got cut short when Vlad snapped out and yelled at Danny who was already out the front door.  
"BE HOME BY DINNER! I MEAN IT!"

**……………………**

Words could not express the joy on the boy's face as he zipped past the open road driving a sleek vehicle that Vlad spent thousands on. Being that Vlad's manor lied in a remote part near the woods, yet not that far from the Wisconsin country air, Danny passed by numerous wheat fields, farms, cows and horses, tractors, and general peacefulness the city would never afford for him. What a relaxing change of pace. How could city people complain about the country life? Everything felt so perfect. No material obsession, no busy traffics, no crowded towns, just the good ol' country air. Of course, small sightseeing aside, Danny's goal was one-tracked at the moment. Unfortunately, not being familiar around this part of town, Danny parked his car near a small store (usually the types that sold a variety of things ranging from candy to hardware goods). There were about two boys and a girl chatting, all younger then Danny, mostly in their preteens eyeing the fancy car and the city boy that walked out of it. After eyeing him, they stopped chatting.

"Hey there, can you guys help me?" Danny asked. The three didn't budge, only eyeing Danny like he was an insect that needed to be squashed, "…Umm…do you guys know this address?" He took out his notepad. Again, they were silent.  
"Help me out here, will ya? I'm new here." Danny sighed.  
"…Where did you come from?" The eldest boy, looking about 12 said, arms crossed, eyebrows down as if to give off a tough appearance to put at ease on the other two kids behind him.  
"That giant manor way yonder." Danny answered, pointing to Vlad's manor which could be seen from the distance. And with that, the three children let off small gasps.  
"Whoa, you live in that place?" The second youngest child came, a scrappy looking boy who looked like he needed a long overdue bath, "You must be rich! Either way, I still wouldn't want to live there."  
"Yeah, it's haunted and full of scary, evil stuff." Came the youngest, a sweet little tomboy-ish girl, wearing pigtails, donning overalls.  
"Haunted, you say?" Danny chuckled, knowing full aware the truth was a lot closer then the kids would know.  
"Yep, be hearin' rumors about some scary old man who lives there and does crazy crap." The oldest said, "Hard to believe you'd live there on account you look normal…city kid, but normal. Maybe you're just lying to us." All three kids crossed their arms in unison.  
"Hey, I don't want any trouble; I just need to find this address." Danny once again lifted up the notepad, "This is really important." But the kids refuse to talk any further.

"What's going on over there? Roger, Dash, Sasha?" Four pairs of eyes turned around to see an average looking man exit the store's front door. He was a skinny individual with dark hair on the side, the top being completely bald. His face had a sense of wisdom and calmness to it and unlike the three children; he didn't eye Danny like a cancer, but greeted him with a warm smile.  
"Oh? A customer?" He perked, "Well, usually customers come inside the store. We got candy."  
"Sorry, I'm not here to buy anything, I just came for directions, I need to know this address." Danny again waved the notepad.  
"Hmmm, that address. Why, I haven't been to that farm in a while."  
"Oh, dad, don't tell that strange old guy where the address is, he's from that creepy manor!" The middle child, the one named Dash cried out.  
"OLD?" Danny gasped.  
"What you want to do is continue to go straight, then take the first right you see, then you'll pass a variety of farms, but you'll be able to spot the one you want if you know what the farm looks like." The man answered to a much relief Danny.  
"Thank you." Danny tucked the notepad back inside his backpack and started to set off but not before eyeing the three little munchkins, "I hope we meet again, you little rascals." Although playing around, the kids took offense at Danny's words and shouted profanity and insults at him while their father, the store owner, watched in amusement. Danny again stopped.  
"…You said you had candy?"

**And So We Meet**

After another 15 minutes of driving (Vlad's manor could barely been seen at that point) and a lollipop in his mouth, Danny finally reached his destination, the Masters' farm, looking just like the newspaper clippings he saw, a generally nice, wooden house, a huge farm in the back, and plenty of cows grazing in the long fields. Danny parked his car nearby the house. Immediately two farmers tending to their private garden spotted the young boy, dropped their garden tools and headed for the teenager.

"Can we help you?" The first man spoke. An old middle aged man donning a white cowboy hat, jeans, and tucked in shirt.  
"Oh, yeah…is this the Masters' farm?" Danny asked as he hopped out of his car.  
"Yes, yes it is. Do you have business here?"  
"Business?" Danny repeated.  
"I reckon due to that fancy smancy car you must be like the son of a company." The other cowboy said, also donning a white cowboy hat and similar wardrobe, only he was much younger, looking at least a couple of years older then Danny.  
"I…I was just wondering if the one known as Abraham Masters lives here." Danny said, "I came to visit him."  
"And why do you wish to visit our boss?" The older man asked.  
"Geez, it's like a wave of questions in this town, isn't it?" Danny sighed, rolling his eyes, "Look, my reasons are my own. This won't take long…one can hope, so can you please—"

"Hank! Kevin! What the hell is going on over there?" A graveling, yet powerful voice rang from inside the house, "Who the HELL is that kid out there?"  
"Some kid, that much we know." The younger one, Kevin spoke, "A real skinny one." Danny groaned, making one of his hands into a fist. Only an hour in and already he's had his fair share of insults.  
"All I can see from this window is some city sleeker kid, tell him what he wants!" The loud voice continued.  
"We did, but he's not giving us a definite answer, he's stubborn, just like you." Hank, the older one laughed. That prompt the third man to come out. A man aging gray hair that reached down to the tips of his neck, a beard that was rather well kept, neither too long or short, average and not at all shaggy. He, like Vlad, was a lanky man, but his thundering voice and face seem to compensate for that. He stood about the same height as Vlad as well, so in the seconds that he came bursting out the door and into Danny's life, the boy immediately recognized the man as Vlad's father. The old, senile figure immediately walked over to Danny.

"Who the hell are you and why should I care?" His face meant Danny's.  
"A-Are you Abraham Masters?" Danny asked, intimated by this old figure. He didn't think it'd be possible to outshine Vlad in the intimation department, but the older Masters got him beat, hook, line, and sinker. Ahh, so that's where Vlad got it.  
"Who wants to know?"  
"Umm…well, the thing is I heard you're the father of a man I know and I was just curious and…and…"  
"Well, out with it!" He cried, each suggestions ending with him stepping forward as Danny backed away, "How do you know my son? Why should I care? Are you selling something? Are you some teen hooligan that I have to beat up? Are you insane?"  
"Ummm…uhhh…"  
"WELL, ANSWER ME!"  
"Uhh…I'm…HIS SON!" Immediately Danny cupped his mouth. Where did THAT come from?

Abe, Kevin, and Hank's amusement/anger turned into shocks and stares. Danny, while paralyzed on the outside was confused and frustrated on the inside, his head repeatedly telling him why he said such a thing.

"You're his…what?" Abe's mouth cringed, one eyebrow raised, the other lowered, his arms still on waist. Again, Danny staggered.  
"WELL? OUT WITH IT!"  
"…C-Can I have a glass of water?" He answered.

**…………………**

Three consecutive cups of water managed to somewhat calm Danny down, allowing him to breathe regularly. He tried hard to gaze away from the three pairs of eyes staring at him. Gently placing the cup down on the table he next to him. Danny (sitting on a chair) cleared his throat and then scratched the back of his head, obviously trying to buy time.

"CUT THAT OUT!" Abe slammed his fist on the table, just inches away from Danny, "ANSWER ME…you're my GRANDSON?" Danny's mouth struggled as his brain tried to quickly muster an answer for him, '_No, you're not, don't lie!_' '_Yes, you are! Being Vlad's kid can have its benefits for this.' 'Benefits? Why the hell are you even in this farm?' 'Shut up! Hurry up and say something!_'

"Y-Yes." He said meekly, lowering his head, trying to over the rest of his face with his cap. Abe didn't yell this time; instead he just continued his traditional of staring at the poor kid's face. Danny's eyes continued to lower until he could make out the wooden floor and his own two feet. Only when the silence prolonged any further then he expected did Danny raise his head to eye Abe. The older male crossed his leg over the other, elbow on table which supported his head, other hand on top of his knee with his index finger tapping it, and his eyes closed as if he was pondering. Then he reached his hand out and grabbed the bottom of Danny's jaws to get a better view of his face.

"Hmmm…you have his eyes." Abe mumbled, "…But, I never heard this on the news or anything. After all, my so-called son is supposed to be a celebrity, a well known public figure, how is it that I'm just NOW informed he has a kid?" Danny raised his hand to provide an answer before Abe spoke again.  
"And don't give me that crap that just because I live in the country, we're remote people!" Abe rudely pointed to Danny, "I get that from so many damn city tourists."  
"H-He tries to keep me away from the public…well, at least the paparazzi as much as possible…grandpa." Danny lied, a bit mixed with guilt and satisfaction over his fib, "So, I'm not really well known in the public's eyes." Abe and the other two men seemed satisfied with that answer, but the questions were only beginning.

"…How old are you?"  
"16."  
"…And your full name?"  
"D-Daniel…P…Masters." Danny particularly stressed that one, trying hard to focus only on Abe. Oh, if he only studied Vlad's manipulation harder throughout the two years he's known him. Danny however must have been better then he thought or Abe was easily gullible as he murmured, "mmhmm's with ever nod.  
"Okay…what school do you go to?"  
"Madison Private High." Danny answered automatically, remembering the school Vlad wanted to send him.  
"Any siblings?"  
"N-No, only child."  
"Mother?"  
"Dead."  
"Social life?"  
"Not popular, not complaining much."  
"Special lady in your life?"  
"Not yet."

The questions piled on, each seemingly easier then the last as Danny breezed through it like a pro since it mainly dealt with his social life. Every question answered had Abe nodding his head while stuck in his 'pondering pose'. After some 15 minutes, Abe filled the room with silence again as he thought again while Danny casually watched, tapping his fingers on his legs. Abe then made a move as he leaned in closer to Danny.

"Alright, hot shot, last question."  
"Shoot." Danny crossed his arms and raised his head up, his confidence unshaken.  
"Why are you here?"  
"…T-To see you…grandpa." Danny muttered.  
"Did your father sent you?"  
"No." Danny rapidly shook his head. Abe sighed.  
"Of course, why would he come and see his own father?" Abe said, half to himself, half to the others, "After all, lack of contact for some 20 years is bound to do something like that." Obviously he had a sarcastic tone.  
"20 years?" Danny gasped, "Vla—err…Dad's never spoken to you in twenty years? But he doesn't even live that far from here; it's like an hour or so drive."  
"Ha. I bet he did this on purpose just to spite me." Abe stood up, grumbling various nonsensical words.  
"I don't get it, how on earth did you two fell apart? What happen?" Danny asked.  
"He never told you?" Abe eyed Danny who shook his head once more, "Of course, why would he? He has no respect for me, that rebel." Danny eyed him.  
"The fallout is nothing for you to be concerned; frankly I'm surprised you ARE here." Abe raised his arms, "I'd figure if he did mention me, he'd at least badmouth me enough to convince you I'm some sort of demon or at least prevented you from coming."  
"Are you?"  
"NO! I am my own man, a farmer, nothing more, nothing less." Abe shouted proudly, pointing to himself when he said "_farmer_".  
"So why can't you tell me?"  
"It's nothing that concerns you." Abe shook his head, "My grandson has come to visit and that's all I really care for. Now then, shall I give you a tour around this joint?"  
"I…I guess so." Danny stood up, slowly nodding. What a disappointment, the old geezer refused to tell anything regarding his past with Vlad. Perhaps slowly playing the "grandson card" will get the old man to lighten up and eventually confess, but for now, he was an honorary guest in the Masters' farm.

**…………………**

**Confession**

Danny arrived at around eight, WAY passed dinner. He casually entered the double doors whistling a tune while tossing Vlad's car keys. Apparently, he must've had a good time down at the Masters' farm, but happy time ended when Vlad, who upon hearing the door close, hastily walked over to Danny and blocked his path.

"Oh, hi, Vlad." Danny waved, his bright smile turning into confusion then realization when he saw how angry Vlad looked, "Oh…right, I was suppose to be home by dinner. Sorry 'bout that, I had too much of a great time. You know the country air is really good on me and—"  
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Vlad asked, his voice stuck between stern, forced volumes to raised level of hell, "It's PAST dinnertime! I specifically said to come home before DINNERTIME. What time is it NOW, Daniel?"  
"Vlad, I'm sorry, alright."  
"Where the HELL did you go?" Vlad repeated his first question.  
"N-No where you care about." Danny shrugged, "Just…places teenagers go to."  
"WHERE?"  
"No where." Danny grew agitated, "Now can I go?"  
"NO, not until you tell me what you've been doing!" Vlad blocked his path again when Danny tried to move, acting like an unbreakable wall that moved whenever someone got near.

"Geez, Vlad, why do you care?"  
"Care? I care because a 16 year old teenage who refuse to tell where he went and returned home in late at night WORRIES me, that's why!" Vlad answered.  
"Worried about me? Wow, isn't that something?" Danny sarcastically hissed, "You really like to act like you're my father despite all the crap you've been putting me through for the past two years."  
"Well, you're the one who came here, smart aleck!" Vlad cried out, "And as long as you live under my roof, I might as well BE your father! Someone needs to look after you."  
"I can look after myself fine, it's the rest of the world who needs to look out for themselves!" Danny shouted while frantically waving his arms around, "The world can either continue to screw with me or deal with me!"  
"I AM dealing with you! I want to know where you've been!" Vlad cried, "Honestly, I'm swamped with work, I got idiotic business partners, and then I have YOU!"  
"HEY! Don't take your work related stress out on me!" Danny pointed to Vlad, "If you don't like it, TOUGH DARTS, but don't take it out on ME!"  
"I WOULDN'T IF YOU WOULD JUST TELL ME WHERE YOU WENT!"  
"NO!" Danny then pushed his way past Vlad, running until he reached the start of the stair way, eyeing away from Vlad, head lowered, "…I'm packing my stuff and getting the hell out of here. Obviously we can't even exist in the same room without arguing every freakin' day."  
"What? And where the hell do you plan to go?"  
"…I don't know, just faraway from you."  
"DANIEL!"  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Danny shouted, "I thought you'd be the one to make me feel better, not drive me to hate my life even further!"  
"DANIEL!"  
"NO! Whatever you have to say, I DON'T CARE! I NEVER CARED ANYTHING FOR YOU! Even when I came here, I didn't care! I just…I DON'T CARE FOR ANYTHING RIGHT! I…I JUST WISH MY LIFE JUST ENDED NOW! RIGHT NO—"

"DANIEL, YOU'RE DYING!"

Like rusty daggers piercing one's heart, Danny raised his head while the rest of his body remained unmoved. Vlad quickly covered his mouth and tried to hold back tears, shocked at himself for his sudden outburst. Neither of them spoke a word to each other for a bit.

"I-I'm what?" Danny finally spoke, breaking the silence.  
"Y-You're dying." Vlad uttered, "T-The experiments I performed on you…I checked and rechecked, your DNA is literally…falling apart. The ectoplasm in your body isn't agreeing with your blood cells, the two are basically fighting over each other. The cells are trying hard to fight the ectoplasm in your system which is basically poisoning you right now causing the break out. Slowly, but…surely."  
"…How long do I have till I…expire?" Danny asked.  
"I…I don't know yet."  
"…There's no cure." That wasn't a question, that wasn't a guess, Danny knew. Vlad however refused to accept that.  
"Daniel, I WILL find one." He hastily said, his voice starting to break. Again, Danny remained silent.  
"Oh, Daniel…I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to tell you this way, tell you while we were arguing. I was just so worried, especially when I discovered this. So worried something could happen to you, that you would have used your powers or something to save…someone, or…or faint in the middle of nowhere or…or…" Try as he might, he couldn't continue. Danny still refused to face Vlad, but his ears weren't blocked, so he could hear Vlad's voice breaking into soft sobs.

Dying. He will die. He's body finally started to reject his ghostly blood and after two long years of getting acquainted with it. Alas, the process, all the fun and game would end as his once faithful accident would cost him his very life. It's not fair, it's not fair. He's used these powers for the greater good. When a rogue ghost attacked, Danny stopped him, when someone needed rescuing, Danny rescued, when the world needed saving, Danny saved, but now all his good deeds led to this anticlimactic conclusion.

"That's it…that's how the fate of Danny Fenton plays out." Danny muttered to himself in a surprisingly eerie, calm tone, "I will…perish…I will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry…or get angry."

Hearing all this made Vlad eye the boy, the boy who's back was turned towards him, the boy who hardly said a thing since he was told of his fate, the boy who didn't even register a tear, a scream, or some sort of normal reaction to one who would face death at such a young age. Instead, he just remained silent and calm.  
**To Be Continued…**

**………………………**

**Author's Notes: **Apologies for the lack of update, been playing _Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door _and suffering AGAIN from some sort of writer's block (which is why I feel the dialogue isn't all that good for me in this chapter). I was also busy with various other craps, notably my other fanfic and a _Danny Phantom_ fancomic, so my time is very busy. That said, I hope the next update will be closer (though I doubt it).

Some things to note about this chapter are the name Abraham for Vlad's dad. Yes, it is the same name as Homer Simpson's dad (which I stated previously in the last chapter as an influence for Vlad's origin), but trust me, I struggled with it. For a loooong time, I've tried to think of a name for Vlad's pop other THEN Abraham, but someone I ended up back with this. Ahaha. That said, I kinda feared introducing him. I mean, what if the TV show ever did and I got his description wrong? That said, I decided to take a risk anyways.

And speaking of fancharacters, I also had some HUGE reluctance to bring in fancharacters. I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely do not enjoy making fancharacters (I generally never cared for fancharacters), but considering Danny's story is going to take place a lot in Wisconsin, I figure I would have to make up characters eventually. Although people who hate fancharacters need not fear since their roles will be minor, secondary characters at best with Abe being the exception.

Other things to note was how tempt I was on wanting Danny to hug Vlad when he was given the car keys and Vlad hugging Danny when he confessed he was dying. I resisted doing this for both cases because I felt they just weren't ready for that level of love yet. Not yet. As for Danny's eerie behavior after finding out he will die, I think people will be pretty confused on that aspect, especially since he's been so emotional before then. I think I just kept it for the creepy factor as well as the fact that Danny found out he is dying, so perhaps all his anger flew out for him to react the way an average person was, or maybe he doesn't know how to react to this just yet. Either way, it'll go like that for a bit before I ultimately put some bigger emotional impact on him.

Oh, and YES, don't worry, I WILL get Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Danny's parents as well as others involved in a chapter soon.


	6. I need to Start a Plan

**Pocket Watch  
****I need to start a plan**

**Nothing but hope and luck**

CLICK.  
"No."  
CLICK.  
"No."  
CLICK.  
"NO."

This was the routine Sam took since Danny's absence: clicking on various news channels to see if the famous "Danny Phantom" was mentioned in anyone of them. So far, this was her only leading method in hopes of finding her best friend. Tucker stuck to his predictable routine of using his PDA and other source of technology. Jazz's task fell on keeping her parents from falling apart. She found her mother constantly crying, often wondering if it was her fault Danny ran away. Jack's behavior turned a 180, his usual optimistic, boisterous self replaced with a man dressed in silence and sorrow, spending most of his time in the lab perfecting or making new ghost gadgets, but never actually testing them out or using them. It was his obvious way of dealing with the pain of losing his son. Aside from school and keeping tabs on where her brother was with Sam and Tucker, trying to keep the parents' oppression down became to be a thankless job in itself.  
Danny's absence even affected his peers, including Valerie whom Sam encountered after about a week of Danny's absence in the school hallway.

"Sam, I need to ask you something and you probably already knew this was coming, but…where's Danny?"  
Sam eyed Valerie with wide eyes, casually clinging onto her locker door as she eyed whom she considered a threat to Danny, both when it came to his ghost form and his love life. Valerie could easily see the hostility in her eyes, so she let out a sigh.  
"Sam, I know you don't like me that much and I get why, but you and I are both concerned for Danny." She started, "So can't you please tell me where he is?"  
Sam eyed the floor with a sorrowed look, knowing Valerie's concern for him matched the same level as her's.  
"I…I don't know." Sam finally admitted, "…He ran away. Jazz told me."  
"…I didn't do anything to push him away, did I?" She asked weakly, rare in her case since like Sam, Valerie had strong opinions whenever she felt the need to say it. Now she sounded absolutely terrified. She wasn't even sure why she asked that way. Perhaps her ghost hunting life got in the way of pursuing Danny, that is, if he still liked her. Sam struggled with the answer. After all, she could easily shout out to her that Phantom and Fenton, being one and the same, grew sick and tired of the ghost hunter in red always after her and near succeeding in some aspects as well, but blaming Valerie on something she didn't know, that would be too harsh, so she gave off the best answer she could.  
"I don't think so." Sam shook her head. Valerie proceeded to give off a relieved face until Sam continued, "…I think it's all of us."

It hit her like a bag of hammers as it did Sam who felt like putting her foot in her mouth. Now Valerie took her turn to eye the floor in dismay. Sam closed her locker door and did something she normally wouldn't do as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. They had nothing but hope and luck to rely on for the time.

**An Encounter**

A week passed since Vlad blurted out Danny's trip to the heavenly gates to which the boy spent the majority of his time lying or sitting on his bed, hardly uttering a word, his lips clenched tight as if a zipper ran between it. Unusually whenever he left his room for whatever reason (mostly for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), Danny ate normally and suggested words here and there ("Pass the salt, please"), but he said it in a weary voice. His face however gave off a more serious pondering look then sadness, like the face he usually gave when answering a hard question in his math homework rather then a look of sorrow over his death which he still somehow gave off a vibe.

Vlad felt it weird the news of his death resulted in a quiet, near stoic Danny despite whatever looks he gave. He had expected the child to throw himself onto the expensive, recently shampooed carpet and cried out in anguish. For Danny to take this remarkably well concerned Vlad, yet he never bothered to talk this over with him. In fact, Vlad found himself too afraid to talk to him, only briefly staring at him from time to time before cowering over to his newspaper/food/work paper, obviously filled with guilt for what he said to him.

April ended and May came, but Vlad didn't bother asking Danny if he chose a disguise name to enter Madison Private High. In fact, he never made any note of it for obvious reasons. Yet May would be the start of some changes around both Vlad and Danny's lives…

**………………**

Vlad peeked inside Danny's room before leaving for work. Danny started to make it a habit of sleeping past seven and to add insult to injury, he's entire room's curtains shielded the windows, so even on such a nice, bright, and sunny day, Danny spent it all lingering in his bed, blanket only covering the lower half of his body, sleeping it all away. Vlad suspected this was Danny's new way of dealing with his death since previously, he woke up earlier, if not to keep as much suspected eye on his arch nemesis as possible. Now, he slept it out; after all, it was the closest thing to death he's going to get at this time. Vlad opt to leave, but his concern and guilt got to him, so he barged right into his room, walking close to his bed to eye Danny. Seeing his face and how peaceful it looked made him even guiltier, so before he left he wrapped Danny's blanket up to the boy's neck before quietly walking out to go to work, however little that would help him in the future.

Danny woke up at around quarter pass noon. Eyeballing the clock and seeing he was about 6 hours late then the usual time he's been waking up in, he honestly didn't care (wouldn't be the first time he woke up that late before after all). After stumbling out of bed, putting on whatever clothes he could find (preferably ones he left hanging on the tea table chairs), brushing his teeth and washing his face, Danny made his way downstairs to the main room. Eyeing the TV, he flicked it on with the remote; immediately he got the news channel where he stared briefly at a tragic report over a car crash and twelve lives lost. After hearing that, he closed his eyes tightly and walked towards the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, he wondered whether he prefer the effort of making himself a sandwich or gorge down on Lucky Charms located on the kitchen counter nearby all the while pondering the words Vlad uttered to him a week back, "_You're dying_."

"I'm dying." He repeated.

Fridge still open, staring at the platform of foods, Danny's silence and manner seem fit to show he's depression over the matters of his death when in reality, for that exact week, he actually spent time pondering over something completely different. He's thinking face he gave for the past week grew of no random chance, but of something he did that remained of a small important to him. He remembered when he was a child; he made a list on a piece of loose leaf, about the age of seven. That said, that single piece of loose leaf paper lied in Danny's mind, knowing full well that now he had to make good use of it while he could. The little importance of that single piece of paper suddenly grew bigger in the past week. If only he could somehow get it without using his powers…

Suddenly, out of the blue, his ghost sense took off, sending a quick shiver down his spine. Danny quickly closed the fridge and lean over the kitchen entrance. Nothing. He left the room entirely and casually walked, eyeballing his back every now and then, only to turn around and bump into a very familiar ghost.

"What th—YOU!" A giant metallic hand pointed to Danny: Skulker.  
"Oh, it's just you." Danny sighed, closing his eyes with relief, "…What do you want?"  
"I came to see if I could catch up with Vlad before he left for work, see if he had a particular weapon I needed so I could—wait, what do you mean, "_Oh, it's just me_?" I'm not a threat to you anymore?" Skulker hissed. Danny tried to speak, but Skulker continued.  
"Is that why you didn't give an effort to fight me about a month back?" Skulker gasped, "Oh, man, what the hell did I do to make you think that way? Am I getting predictable, am I too tiring for you, what? WHAT?"

"Skulker, shut up!" Danny shouted, "It's NOT you, it's me. I'm DYING. My human DNA and my ghost DNA are basically fighting each other to the point where using my ghost powers will crap out on me and cause me to suffer. I'm DYING." And with that, he returned back to the kitchen. Skulker stood stunned, standing like a useless lump before he had the sense to follow him and give off a cocky look.  
"Okay, I get it; this is some sort of stupid joke to lead me off. Ooh, clever, but I'm not falling for it. It's a rather stupid excuse anyway." Skulker crossed his arms, eyeing Danny.  
"Fine, whatever." Danny shrugged, pulling a carton of milk out, deciding on cereal. Skulker clearly didn't like the idea of not being taken seriously, so he jabbered on.  
"I mean, you HAVE to be lying, no way in hell a normal person would take it so easily that they're dying."  
"Well, I'm not exactly a normal person, Skulker."  
"That's not what I meant." His voice started to raise, "You CAN'T die. I'M suppose to kill YOU. ME. Not death, not some bizarre accident, not disease, ME! It's NOT fair!"  
"Well, then if you must, go ahead and kill me now." Danny said with a mix of calmness and irritation. Skulker stuttered around and waved his arms around frantically before speaking.  
"NO! That's not how it works! You have to fight back; it's the thrill of the HUNT!" He screamed, "You standing there like easy prey is NOTHING to me!"  
"Wow, you really are hardcore." Danny unimpressively said, "Well, if you desire that, then your luck is through since I don't have any plans to prance around for you. I got other matters to attend to."  
"Oh, yeah, LIKE WHAT?"  
"I don't need to tell you." Danny finished the reminder of his cereal, cleaned up the kitchen counter he was eating from, and walked away. In another time, Skulker, being ridiculously close would have sent him on the defensive, but now...what was the point?

The rogue ghost hunter however refused to leave him alone for the reminder of the day, basically going on that even if Danny did die, he could chase after him endlessly in the Ghost Zone regardless.

"…After all, when you die, it's where you'll most likely end up…unless you get everything you needed done before then."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Look, the only way you can get in the Ghost Zone is if you were born a ghost or died without having any sense of peace left in your mortal life." Skulker answered in a rather surprising sincere tone, "The Ghost Zone is basically Purgatory. If you haven't finished anything you needed in the mortal world, you'll most likely end up there."  
"…But I don't want to."

Skulker gave off a shocked look and incidentally, a saddened one.

"…Why?" Skulker placed a hand behind the back of his neck, "I'd figure you being half ghost and coming into the Ghost Zone a lot, you'd have been use to it and maybe even…liked it?"  
"No offense, Skulker, but the Ghost Zone isn't my idea of heaven." Danny shook his head.  
"Heaven? Is that where you want to go?"  
"Well…yeah, I'd figure lots of people wanted to go to Heaven." Danny shrugged, "…Why, does it not exist?"  
"I don't know." Now it was Skulker's turn to shrug, "A lot of ghosts that have existed in the mortal world at one point have stated they desire to work hard to rest their souls completely so they'd descend into heaven or any afterlives they believe in. They don't know anymore then you humans do, really."

Danny kept his mouth shut, pondering over Skulker's words. He didn't very much enjoy the fact Heaven could only be a concept and not an actual place. Granted, Danny wasn't a religious boy, but he grew up knowing of that place so many times and seeing the Ghost Zone as actual evidence of an afterlife, Danny assumed heaven would be one among many. He fidgeted with his hands, wondering if he should go through with his plans.

"Hello?" Skulker moved in front of Danny, "Ignoring me now?"  
Danny sighed and did nothing but stare, refusing to let anyone disturb his thoughts.

**………………**

**Hero **

Skulker's presence continued to dominate Danny throughout the afternoon and early into the evenings, his words continuing to prang Danny over how he wanted his head on a plate, or how he's destiny lied in the Ghost Zone after death…where he would place his head on a plate. Danny often just drowned it out, spending the majority of the day thinking. By evening, at half past six, Danny ventured back into the kitchen once more, only this time to prepare dinner and suitably, not just for him.

Skulker once again stared like a lump as Danny took out about three different kinds of pots, filled them with water, and started cutting up meats and vegetables.

"Trying to make a Thanksgiving feast, Chef Boyardee?" Skulker sneered.  
"Making dinner for Vlad when he returns home." Danny answered, refusing to stare at Skulker, only concentrating on the food which he opt to give it his all, "I notice he doesn't seem to feed himself very well after work, possibly due to all that work. He's the president of his own company after all."  
"Just what are you doing in Vlad's anyways? Ain't you two mortal enemies?"  
"I just needed to get away from Amity Park…it's a long story."  
"…I didn't even know you could cook."  
"Well, not really. I watched my mom sometimes, but seriously, cooking shouldn't be that big of a brainer. Just make sure the meat turns completely brown, and chop up the vegetables without cutting your fingers off, lest you mistake that piece of carrot to be a part of my pinky."  
"What the hell are you making?"  
"I…don't know. Some pseudo meat and vegetable…soup?"  
"Then shouldn't you add something like chicken broth or something?"  
"Okay, since you're such an expert, why don't YOU help or something?"  
"FINE, I WILL!" Skulker scooted Danny over and headed for the meat. Taking a butcher knife, he started to cut it into rather perfect square chunks while Danny watched in amazement.  
"…Awww, come on, I hunt for a living, of course I actually know how to cook some of the food I kill!" Skulker groaned, "Now get the chicken broth and let's get cookin'."

**……………………**

Edging backwards, Danny sat on the nearest furniture (a coffee table) in the living room after dinner and with Skulker of all people! They even went the extra mile and sat up the dining table using the fine china, expensive silverware, and candles, as if they preparing Vlad for a date. Exhausted, he let the news drone on, not paying any particular attention to it until the words, "…fire in Madison Road is currently going strong."

Madison Road? That road lied about some 15-20 minutes from here. Danny glued his eyes to the screen to spot a raging fire going on inside a farm, one he couldn't recognize. What he did notice motivated him to stand up as several firemen worked tirelessly to put out the fire while the other half tried in vain to rescue the survivors while dozens of passerby, residences, and paparazzi watched/droned on. Immediately Danny, without a second thought headed straight for the front door, Skulker following behind.

"WAIT! You're not thinking about saving those folks?"  
"That's the idea."  
"What about the whole ghost power will kill you deal?"

Danny gripped the doorknob tightly as he cringe his face. Would he dare take such a risk? People die everyday after all. It seemed almost unfair for him to walk closer to death by saving the lives of strangers he probably wouldn't meet again, yet he's moral center got to him first, so he opened the front door and started to head out, the sky showing signs of darkness. He took several steps before eyeing Skulker.

"…Sorry, I gotta do this."  
"Why?"  
"Because if I don't, then no one else will."

And with that, he turned ghost and flew off.

**………………………**

Defeating ghosts grew to be only ONE of Danny's many agendas as a growing superhero. He found himself, in given time, to handle all manners of super heroism from rescuing cats from trees to making sure that large piece of building doesn't fall on top of innocent civilians, and although he's faced fire many times before, Danny still broke a sweat every time he got near one. After all, Danny still remained alive and one tiny mistake could cost him his life in what is known as the deadliest of all elements.

The red barn couldn't have been more redundant with the colors of the flame flickering, poking out of every window available, so much so that the current survivors' muffled cries could barely be heard, so they couldn't hear the whoosh from the wind when a half ghost flew towards their direction. Every single person's attention shifted from the burning barn to the young halfa, flying straight through the barn using his intangibility. Formerly known as "Inviso-Bill" to many, "Danny Phantom" in the two short years he's been a hero, gained phenomenon and fame over the United States, quickly spreading to Canada, Mexico, and other parts of the world. After all, genuine superheroes existed only in the realm of comic books and television, yet here is one who literally must have popped out from the very pages of a graphic novel. So boldly he goes inside the barn without a second thought, coming out with three people in his arms: a man and his two little daughters.

Fellow residences quickly ran over to comfort and conceal the survivors, the rest tried to congratulate Danny. Danny however split when he started to lose focus as his eyelids started to drop and when the paparazzi started to head his way. He didn't need nosy reporters poking microphones and video cameras in his directions, so he immediately flew up until he felt sure he couldn't been seem (which helped as the sky darkened) before he dropped like an anvil in a Saturday morning cartoon, landing on Skulker's arms of all places, the ghost hunter having followed him, trailing behind and keeping watch over Danny's heroism. He now turned back into his human form, fainting in Skulker's arms.

"Stubborn." He muttered before flying the kid home.

**…………………**

**A Favor **

Danny woke up from the couch Skulker placed him on inside the main living room when the sound of the front door opened with Vlad shouting afterwards, "I'M HOME!" Working his way to said living room, he dropped his suitcase so suddenly when he saw Skulker kneeling, eyeballing Danny who managed to utter a weak smile and a short wave.

"Hi, Vlad…"  
"Oh, my God, Daniel, what happened?" He ran over to him and kneeled, placing a hand on Danny's forehead, feeling for any increased temperature.  
"Oh, just…just…saved people."  
"WHAT? Did you use your powers?" Danny only casually nodded.  
"What did I TELL YOU about using your powers?"  
"There was a fire…needed to save…people…no choice."  
"There is ALWAYS a choice, Daniel!" Vlad stopped, arched his head back, and sniffed, "What's that smell?"  
"I made you…dinner." Danny weakly pointed to the dinner table. Vlad hardly could get angry after seeing that rather pathetic attempt at pointing, especially when afterwards, Danny closed his eyes again and drifted off. Vlad eyed Skulker who gave off a "_Don't-give-me-that-look_".  
"Hey, I tried to stop him, okay!"  
"Why the hell are you here?"  
"I was wondering if you had a particular weapon I could use, so I tried to catch you before you left for work, but I obviously didn't do that. Then I meant the whelp and I've been with him all day."  
"And you didn't try to kill him?"  
"No point in killing a prey that refuses to play the game." Vlad sighed. He lowered his head as he enveloped it over with his hand.  
"…Come on, have dinner with me. Can't let food go to waste." He finally muttered.

**……………………**

Again Danny stayed in bed for an extensive period of time. It seemed the more he used his powers, the longer he'd stay in bed. Vlad seem fit to constantly keep an eye on Danny without actually interfering so much. Skulker unfortunately lead the opposite direction by barging in on Danny every chance he got, refusing to let down that he's head would be on a mount for all to see. Danny took in those words with a grain of salt, continuing to ponder once more, occasionally halting to see the news on TV (where Danny Phantom's report of saving the three civilians went heard) or to rest his eyes. By the near end of the week, he decided Skulker's constant presence would do well for his current goal, so while Skulker droned on and on, Danny (still in bed) casually interrupted.

"…and once I do have your head, I'll use the rest of your body and turn it into a—"  
"Skulker, can I ask you something?" Danny asked, interrupting Skulker.  
"…Hey, don't interrupt!"  
"Skulker…"  
"Oh, WHAT?"  
"I know this is highly unorthodox of me, but…I need you to do me a favor."  
"…E-Excuse me?"  
"I need you to go to my house and get me get something from my room."  
"…E-Excuse me?"  
"It's a shoebox under my bed. Look for a folded piece of loose leaf paper inside, can't miss it."  
"…E-Excuse me?"  
"Don't read it, just quickly find it and bring it back to me, please. If you see anyone, don't tell them jack, no one else knows about my shoebox, just get out and go."  
"…E-Excuse me?"  
"Skulker, expand your vocabulary."  
"EXCUSE ME!" Skulker backed off, "After all the crap you've put me through, all the threats I'm currently making to you right now, you just expect me to go and do YOU a favor?" Danny nodded.  
"FORGET IT!"  
"…Fine." Danny lied down and covered himself with his blanket, turning away from him, "After all, it's not like you got anything better to do until I actually feel the need to pose a level of threat to you." Irritated, Skulker let out a groan and muttered an anguish "FINE!" And with that, he left via the window, leaving Danny to smirk.

**………………**

Skulker's been to Danny's house before, but rarely did he really step inside, let along to his room. Either way, he knew which window to enter to get to Danny's room.  
"Under the bed." He muttered to himself. Getting on his knees, he shoved his left arm under the blanket.  
"Let's see…pointy, pointy, soft, SLIMY, can't even make out that shape, ahh, something boxy." Skulker guessed correctly when he fished out an old Nikes shoebox. Opening the lid, he found a variety of items that in his mind would usually be used as clues to find any weakness Danny possessed, so it was to utter disappointment that most of the junk in here were useless; an old CD case, a picture he drew in the first grade of a dog (eerily he colored it green), few photos of his friends and family, few football trading cards, some newspaper clippings which contained "Danny Phantom" articles, and finally, the folded up loose leaf paper. Skulker fetched that out and place the box back under.

He didn't set off right away; instead he held that piece of paper like it was the Holy Grail. What if this contained everything he ever needed to know in order to defeat Danny? Oh, but what would be the purpose of even lifting a finger to him if he won't lift back as well?

"Damn it, what a fine time for you to arse me around, you little whelp!"  
"Hello? Is someone there? Danny, is that you? Are you back?"  
"Oh, crap!" Skulker quickly staggered up, trying to reach for the window, but he only reached the tip by the time Jazz came in, who proceeded to scream the moment she laid eyes on him. She quickly whipped out a Fenton thermos which seemingly came out of nowhere and pointed it towards him.

"FREEZE, BUSTER!"  
"What th—NO! This isn't what it looks like!" Skulker cried out, raising his arms up a bit like a prisoner caught in the spotlight.  
"Oh, I know what it looks like! You were trying to find my brother, but couldn't!" Jazz assumed, "And just when you were about to leave, I come in!"  
"I…NO, geez, put that thing down!"  
"PREPARE TO BE SUCKED!"

"YOUR BROTHER SENT ME!" Jazz stared at Skulker like he just came out of the insane asylum.  
"…I don't believe you."  
"Well, believe it. He told me to get something from him."  
"PROVE IT!"  
"H-How can I prove it? He told me he's the only one who knows about the shoebox and—"  
"The shoebox?" Jazz finally lowered the Fenton thermos and noticed the piece of paper Skulker held in his hand, "…You know about the shoebox?"  
"Apparently you do, too." Skulker lowered his arms.  
"Of course I know, I've gone through a lot of Danny's stuff in the past without his knowledge." Jazz grinned, "…And I hate to admit it, but you must be telling the truth. Nobody knows about that shoebox, not even his friends."  
"Why is that box so secretive, it's just filled with junk?"  
"Everybody has their secret private things." Jazz answered, "…Why does he need that piece of paper for? He barely covered everything in there, what's going on?"  
"I can't say, partially because I don't know."  
"Where's my brother?"  
"I can't say that either, but he's safe if it helps."  
"What are you planning to do with him?"  
"NOTHING…well, for now." Jazz merely eyed him.  
"Look, I just have to deliver this for your brother, nothing more. He's safe and I don't think he wants me to reveal where he is."  
"…No, I didn't think so." Jazz shifted her focus to the floor, "He can hold quite a bit of a grudge…okay, fine. Go on…but please tell him his family and friends miss him and think of him everyday."  
"Yeah, okay, whatever."  
"But if you hurt ONE hair on his head, I-I'll chase you to the ends of the Earth, you hear me!"  
"Yeah, whatever." And with that, Skulker took off.  
**To Be Continued…**

**…………………**

**Author's Note: **Ch.6 uploaded. Not much to say, but I'm finally getting the general plot moving. I had a lot of thought on how to handle Skulker which proved a bit difficult. Hmm, his speech seemed a bit casual then normal, but he's probably just frustrated. After all, he's biggest hunt is dying, ahahaha. Expect more Skulker in the future. I DO have plans to bring the other ghosts that Danny has fought as well, it'll be tough, I assume. I mean I had to make Skulker have a civil enough conversation to Danny and in a way, work for him of sorts, ahaha.


	7. Why Family Reunions Suck

**Pocket Watch  
****Why Family Reunions Suck**

**On Progression**

"Here's your stupid paper." Skulker muttered, handing the folded piece of loose leaf over to the bedridden Danny. Gracefully accepting it with a smile that seem to half mock the ghost hunter, Danny slowly unfolded it and eyed it's contents, taking in a small sigh from memories past.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What the hell is it?" Skulker pointed, "And man, you have crappy handwritings."

"Skulker, I was six when I started this, of course I had terrible handwritings." Danny chuckled, "This is a list I made at that age after Jazz threatened me."

"She…threatened you?"

"Well, I was angry at her for ratting on mom and dad for something I did, so as an act of revenge, I ripped the heads of the majority of her stuffed animals. She got SO angry that she vow to kill me, so I had better make a death wish…and well, I sorta did…with this." Skulker merely raised an eyebrow.

"This is a list of all the things I want to accomplish before I die." Danny continued, "Any time I want to do a specific thing, I would add it to my list. Ever since I was six, I've been adding newer and newer things, some I've already accomplished (he pointed to the ones that he crossed out), but a lot I still need to do…and to think I started this because my then eight year old sister wanted to kill me for destroying her stuffed animals."

"Speaking of sister, I'm probably not allow to say this, but since I don't really give a crap, I should inform you that she's aware of that piece of loose leaf you've got."

"Is she?" Now it was Danny's turn to raise an eyebrow, although not one filled with surprise as Skulker, but more on a level of intrigue and awareness, "Heh…of course. She's always barging through my stuff without my permission, being overprotective older sis. Of course she'd find this little piece of paper."

"Not surprised?"

"Not in the least."

"Hmm."

"Well, that said, I should add another on the list." Danny lowered himself to pull out his backpack from underneath his bed so that he could rummage through it's numerous pockets to fish out a pencil. Using the drawer next to him, Danny wrote down another objective.

"There, finished." Danny said in a fit of triumph, "Yet another goal I have to accomplish before I die."

"Which is?"

"It's amazing how you're so suddenly curious on my general activities."

"I'm a hunter, it's my job to know my prey's general activities." Again, Danny chuckled, seemingly feeling rather much like an old man who had lived horrific experiences and lived to tell the tales.

"Okay, fair enough. My latest list states I should generally make peace with the majority of the ghosts I fought." Danny answered, "Including you, Skulker." Again, he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious? A lot of those ghosts you fought AREN'T going to exactly feel sorry for you just because you're dying. Half of them used to be mortals themselves, you know!"

"I know, but still…I want to get every single one of my burdens away. I want to enter a good place in the Afterlife once I die."

"Still reaching for Heaven?"

"Yep."

"Even though you have no idea if it exists or not?"

"Yep."

"Isn't that kind of scary? What if there is no Heaven and you do end up in the Ghost Zone?"

"Skulker, you told me the only way to end up in the Ghost Zone is if you were born a ghost and had burdens left on Earth that you couldn't finish. Well, what if I finish them before? Surely I wouldn't end up in the Ghost Zone…would I?"

"Hey, you're asking the wrong person. As far as I'm concerned, you could just die and…that'll be it."

"…I'll take that risk, I suppose. What have I got to lose?"

"What time is it?" Danny eyed a clock on his drawer. Already noon. Checking his cell phone afterwards, he found it to be May 3. Nodding, he got up from bed and slowly placed his feet on the floor, acting as though he hadn't walked in years.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Getting ready." Danny spoke as he stood up, "Oh, and you might want to leave so I can change or at least avert your gaze." He made his way to one of his larger bags where he kept his clothes, not even bothering to stuff them his closet. Back then, he didn't have a damn clue how long he'd stay with Vlad. Anytime Danny had the urge to organize his wears, he usually had another argument with Vlad that caused him to render the fact that he wanted to live with him in the first place, thinking one of these days, he'll runaway and…oh, I don't know…become a hobo or something.

"Getting ready for what?" Skulker asked, turning around so Danny could change privately, covering his eyes with his hands for extra protection.

"I have to go someplace that Vlad would never allow me to go." Danny answered, pulling his pants up, "And I have to get an item from his private studies that I know he won't let me touch."

"Which is…?"

"Not saying."

"Why not?"

"Because you work for Vlad." Danny said, now pulling down his shirt, "And I have a gut feeling if I told you about my plans and Vlad still had to gut it out from you, you'd tell."

"Would not! He's not my boss, he's just an associate I work with!"

"Still not telling."

"What happen to making peace with the ghosts you fought?"

"It's on my to-do list." Danny chuckled, again humoring him.

Fully dressed, Danny then took the liberty of making his bed, something he never really do on a regular basis back then, but now felt like a chore he had to accomplish. Maybe after his intended mission, he'll finally get around and put his clothes inside the closet because how long can he truly argue with Vlad inside his own manor and what will it accomplish his current goals? Baring that in mind, he wrote something else on his list and pocketed it. Then he made a casual wave towards Skulker who merely watched the human boy walk off. The ghost hunter shook his head.

"What am I doing?" Skulker groaned, "Not killing him let along bruising him? Letting him wander off so closely to me like he's teasing me? I swear maybe I AM losing my edge."

**………………**

A quick invisibility and intangibility. Dive in and dive out. Danny took several deep breaths. He knew better then to use his powers, but this would be quick. Quick and straight to the point. After calming himself down, Danny quickly turned invisible, then he phase passed the double doors of Vlad's private studies, headed straight for his bottom desk drawers, phased his hand through, rummaged around, fished out the object he desired, and left.

Turning completely solid, Danny let out a small chuckle as he held the item in his hand, Vlad's pocket watch, no longer ticking since the last time he encountered it. He'd worry about that after the rest of his plans worked, but right now, he slowly extended his hand to the nearest wall to support himself; the use of his powers quickly dizzying him. After some few minutes of closing his eyes and struggling to relieve himself of the tension he felt on his head, Danny slowly made his way downstairs to where Vlad sat, coffee in one hand, pen in another. Signing business paper, one assumes.

Fidgeting with his fingers, Danny slowly walked over to Vlad. Try as he might to put on a straight face, it only came out as nervousness. If worse came to worse, Vlad would have assumed he was faking his appearance, masking his true intention. In a way, it's the correct answer, but Danny prefer to keep as much honest appeal as he could for what he had to ask. Baring that in mind, Danny softly cleared his throat, prompting Vlad to halt his writing and eye Danny with a face he couldn't figure out, something Vlad is exceedingly good at.

"…Yes?" Vlad spoke.

"…Umm…I'm going…out if that's alright."

"Out? Out where?" Vlad said as he finally lifted his entire body as straight as possible from his position of sitting on the couch, "Out…to use your ghost powers when I told you not to use them--"

"--I was helping people from a fire!" Danny interrupted.

"--Or go someplace that'll make you late for dinner, someplace you refuse to tell me about?" Vlad fiddled with his pen, moving it around every so often, "I tell you, my dear boy, I'm finding it very hard to trust you."

Usually at this point, Danny would once again argue back in anger, letting his full emotions flow out of control, but for once, he kept on a calm, almost hurt face. _Remember what you wrote on the list! _He told himself.

"Vlad, I just want to go out. Can't you take pity on a dying kid?" Danny urged a smile.

"Oh, don't try to butter me up, boy, I've been manipulating people while you were still a fetus clinging inside your mother, so I know a fake when I see one!"

"Vlad, I can't stay cooped up here!" Danny cried out, "I'm 16 years old, I need some air."

"Why can't you be more like those teenagers who's faces are always glued to their computers?" Vlad grumbled, "I don't want you going outside. I can't trust you anymore and I can't risk it either!"

"Vlad…I'm dying. Do you really want my last days to be from boredom?"

"It might if it means keeping you safe."

"Great, now you're playing the role of overprotective father AGAIN! I really think I liked it better when you were kicking my ass." Danny started to walk away, "I didn't have such a huge problem like this with my dad."

Every time Danny compared Jack to him, Vlad put on the most dangerous and disturbed of faces. This time, one of his eyes half closed and his teeth clenched. Danny stopped and noticed and a light bulb brighten inside his head. Vlad may be the more clever man, but even he has buttons that could be pushed, so with a small grin, Danny faced him, hands on hips.

"Yeah, my dad was a LOT more lenient with me." Danny smiled.

"Well, what can one expect from that blubbering idiot?" Vlad sneered, hands gripping onto the edge of the couch he sat on. Danny made a short irritated face himself after Vlad's remark on his father, but hid it quickly, continuing the accusation.

"Well, he must have done a good job taking care of me if I'm still alive and well." Danny crossed his arms.

"Alive for now." Vlad stated, "And even then, if you loved your father that well, you would have told him about your secret as a half ghost. Surely you'd trust your ghost hunting father THAT well, hmm?"

"Damn, he's good." Danny muttered to himself.

"And you ran away from him and your other family, remember?"

"But he's still my dad and I still love him!" Danny shrieked, clearly losing this battle considering picking a fight with Vlad is comparable to a mouse countering a snake, "And you can never EVER measure up to him!"

"Then WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE, BOY?" Vlad stood up, eyes sparking a brief red, his nostrils flaring, and his hands in fists, "You are NOT making a lot of sense!" Danny backed up a little, trying to maintain a courageous air in between, mouth wide open to speak, but no words coming out. Vlad let out an agitated groan, stormed off, came back with his car keys, and shoved it at Danny.

"You want to screw yourself over, then FINE! Get the HELL out, I can't stand to see you right now!"

"J-Just like that?"

"GET OUT!"

Danny bolted for the door, jumped into his black convertible, and took off. Well, it worked…not in the way he expected. Another argument and he tried so hard to not start one, but logical sensing should have detected Vlad's intense rage he always felt towards Jack.

**……………………**

**On Reunions**

"_You best come back and visit me sometime_."

The last time he met Abraham Masters, by the end of the day just minutes before Danny hopped on Vlad's car to return back to the manor, he told his "grandson" to come back and visit. Danny promised he did and would make good, yet as he drove in the quiet of the country fields, he's guilt increased only more so. He wasn't Abraham's grandson, but just some kid who happened upon Vlad's life because he couldn't reach his curfew in time two years back.

The car halted. Danny parked. The general store where he met the three little rascals who didn't think too fondly of him due to his involvement with the "haunted manor". Perhaps it'll do wonders if he stalled for time before he reached his destination…and get more candy, so in he went and just as he predicted, the three little children, busy running around inside (obviously hopped up on sugar), froze immediately when they eyed the taller figure before then.

"Hiya." Danny waved, "…Roger (pointing to the older boy), Sasha (the girl), and Dash (the younger boy), did I get that right?"

"DAD! THE OLD GUY FROM THE CREEPY MANOR IS HERE!" The younger one Dash cried out, still looking like he needed a bath terribly.

"I am NOT old!" Danny retorted, "Geez, just like my Dash from my school, obnoxious and rude."

"You're older then us." Roger snorted.

"But cute looking." Sasha giggled.

"I'm not obnoxious!" Dash hissed.

The owner of the general store appeared, still harboring his calm face, "Ooh, the lad has returned. Come back for more candy?"

"Yep." Danny nodded, placing several dollars, "You got any licorice? I always liked those."

"Plenty." The owner nodded, "So…you never told me you were Abe's grandkid."

"Huh?" Danny cocked his head back. Oh, perfect, he told. Well, why wouldn't he and in a small town like this, of course news would travel a bit faster and wider, "…R-Right. Yeah, I am…just trying to be…as secretive as possible."

"Yep, I heard, being on account your father is a big time celebrity in the world. What's it like being the son of a wealthy man?"

"Tiring." Danny half closed his eyes as he spoke in a rather cynical, yet truthful tone.

"I'd imagine so." The store owner placed a container of licorice in his direction, "So many rich folks…too obsessed with materials and greed."

"Well, Vlad--errr…DAD isn't really like that…of sorts." Danny stated, "He's…he's…he means well…just not in the right way."

"Glad to know at least you turned out decent, I mean, going as far as visiting your grandpa, seeing how he and your daddy are broken."

"I'm just glad you look normal and not some creepy ghost or something." Dash pointed out. Danny merely made a short chuckle over that.

"Umm…I'm pretty sure I'm not allow to ask this, but…what happen between my dad and grandpa? Why are they so…apart from one another?"

"Just an incident that happened over 20 years ago, my boy."

"Yeah, but what?"

"It's nothing you need to know."

"I'm his grandson and Vlad's my father, why can't I know?" Danny cried out, "Did it involve this?" Digging through his pocket, Danny whipped out the pocket watch. Immediately the sales owner opened his usual lazy looking eyes and his mouth fell to a gasp.

"The pocket watch." He barely uttered.

"What, it's just a stupid watch." Roger mumbled.

"Where did you get this?" The sales owner asked.

"I found it inside my dad's private studies, inside a desk drawer." Danny answered, "This obviously means something to both my pops and grandpa. Why?" The sales owner grew silent. Should he? He made a promise to Abraham to never tell a new soul about the watch, the incident…but Danny…he's family, a rather close one, surely he of all people should know of his family's heritage and traditions?

"…The watch is primary known as the Masters' Pocket Watch, an heirloom passed down from Masters' family to Master's family since the 1700's."

"Wow, that old?"

"It has been said that the watch since then continued to tick, never once stopping, so it is an awful shame to see it so still."

"Hmm? Oh, right!" Danny quickly took the watch and whined the top, bringing life back into it.

"It is a shame you had to find the watch instead of it being passed down to you, but it does give me a sense of hope that your father managed to keep it even after the falling."

"…Which you're not going to tell me about, are you?"

"I'm sorry, my boy, but I cannot. This is something Abe himself must tell you. Please don't pressure me."

"I won't." Danny lowered his head, a bit disappointed, gripping the watch with both hands, "…This must mean a lot for grandpa, that's why I'm going to show it to him today."

"That sounds risky." Sasha gasped.

"I'm a risky person, kid." Danny grinned which made the little girl giggle in fan girlish delight, "Any who, thank you for the licorice, I better go and do this. Wish me luck." After pocketing a few licorices, Danny waved to the four and started to head out.

"Oh, and I didn't tell you my name, it's Danny. Danny Fen--Masters."

"I know." The sales owner said, "You can call me Clark."

"Right, sure. See ya."

**…………………**

**On Family**

Okay, serious, why does he get himself into more problems? Why on earth is he visiting Vlad's father when he could just as easily back down and let this all slide before the problem gets any bigger? This isn't his problem, this is Vlad's. The last thing on his list he wrote just a couple of hours ago: _Make peace with Vlad._ It didn't mention make peace with his whole family and reunite them like some pseudo Guardian Angel. So why is he doing this?

"Well, how's my favorite grandson?" The old man waved from afar the long trail between the now parked car and the house the Masters' farmers dwelled in, proving for someone his age, he had rather good eye sights.

"…Yeah, that's right, I suffer from hero's syndrome." Danny crouched underneath his driver's seat for a while, muttering under his breath before putting on a straight face and embracing the hug Abe gave him.

"You got away from your father long enough to come see me?"

"Uh-Huh." Danny nervously answered, "Listen, I came here to more then just visit you, I came to--

"--Learn the tricks of the trade of the farm life!"

"Huh?"

"Well, boy howdy, at least I can find it in confidence my son actually did something right! Great, we'll get you in some appropriate clothes and get you started."

"Huh?"

"You like cowboy hats, right?"

"HUH?"

Dressed in a pair of loose jeans, a plaid shirt, and--of course--a cowboy hat (which, for Danny seemed rather familiar looking) Danny confusedly let Abe drag him by the hand over to where the cows stood calmly behind wooden linked fences, calmly watching their surrounding areas, not seeming to care. Danny's no dairy farmer, but why so few cows compare to a large field? About maybe 12--14 cows tops lazily and randomly walked the fields, but surely there would be room for more. It seemed like such a colossal waste.

"This is where we feed the cows." Abe started, "We feed 'em with, of course, hay." He took the familiar rectangular shaped haystack and spread it about to the cows.

"Now you try. They're pretty heavy and I gots to admit, you're a pretty scrawny kid." Abe scratched his head, "Damn father of yours spoiled you too much."

"Scrawny?" Danny placed his hands on his waist, "I'll show you scrawny--heh, heh--grandpa." Rolling up his sleeves, Danny took the nearest haystack and roughly lifted it up. Heavier then he though, but not enough for him to struggle with. If this was two years ago, then he'd have some trouble. Danny casually walked over to the cows and spread about their food like Abe showcased as the older man watched with a wide grin on his face.

"Them's Masters' blood running down ya!"

"Yeah…sure." Danny rolled his eyes, trying in vain to keep himself from creating a humorous smile.

"After that, I'll show ya how to milk a cow, then we got chores around the house, then we got our vegetable patch for the people who live and work here, and--ooh, I gotta show you a thing or two on ridin' horses."

"You got horses?"

Couple of hours of chores aside, Danny managed to meet the various horses they kept. About five of them, most of them brown, one black, one white.

"Since you're a newcomer, this one will do you some good." Abe brought out the white horse, "Daniel, this is Lila. Lila, Daniel."

"Geez…they're a lot bigger in person." Danny nervously chuckled as he stroke the horse's face with his hand.

"Here." Handing Danny a carrot to keep the horse occupied, Abe rummaged around, took out one of the saddles, then grabbed Danny, trying to get him on top of Lila.

"I…I don't know if this is a good idea." Danny struggled.

"Oh, come off it, you were born to horse ride. Masters' blood, boy!"

"I was afraid you'd say that." Danny mumbled. For the duration of his stays, those two words frequently popped out of Abe's mouth, each time causing Danny's stomach to turn a loop: _Master's Blood_. Oh, lord, now he can't even get it out of his head.

Abe had to literally push the boy until Danny reached the top and even then, he didn't so much as seated himself on the saddle as he lied on it, tipping over to the other side, and ultimately falling over. This took several tries and only then did Danny really rode the horse for some five minutes before he accidentally fell off again. No amount of Abe's instructions helped him; the boy sucked at horseback riding.

**………………**

"You staying for dinner?" Abe asked as he sat on his usual chair in the dining room alongside his worker Hank. His son Kevin provided the meals.

"I should hope so. My son's a pretty good cook." Kevin said, "One taste of his food and you'll never want to leave…ever."

"I still think he's secretly homosexual."

"Men cooking food doesn't make them gay." Hank said, barely irritated. They've argued over Kevin's sexual nature before, "He's just in more touch with his feminine side on account he was close to his late mother."

"You keep believing that." Abe muttered, then he pressed his lips to Danny's ears and whispered, "He's clearly in denial, so just humor him whenever this subject comes up again."

"…O-Okay." Danny answered, not entirely sure what he'd do, frankly because he could care less what gender Kevin liked.

"So, you staying?" Abe continued.

"Sounds good, but I'm not so sure…dad might get pissed." Danny fidgeted with his fingers again. Speaking of Vlad, his original plan finally entered his head after hours of pushing it aside to live a farm life for that brief moment, so he decided to quickly get this over.

"But…I am sure on one thing." Danny confidentially pointed out, "That is…that…family is a VERY important thing."

"Ahh, I agree." Abe nodded.

"Well, if that is the case, then shouldn't families, even ones we haven't had contact with years come together and reunite?" Danny could see it in Abe's face that he didn't like where this was going, "I mean…I made it my business to come see the other family members that I had and I had fun…minus the bandages from falling off Lila so damn much."

"…What's your point?"

"Uh-Oh, I sense the fireworks are about to be loose." Hank shook his head.

"I'm saying…maybe, juuuuuuust maybe, it's…time to…you know, talktoyoutson?" He spoke the last sentence quickly.

"Excuse me?" Abe slightly raised himself.

"There it goes." Hank grinned.

"You want me to go talk to that one person who ran off on his own father, vowing never to return?" Abe stood up, towering over Danny.

"But you guys are father and son!" Danny cried out, "Surely you can see past whatever crap you pulled through and work things out."

"I see…this is why you came, so you can shove your happy…dappy, whatever little life lesson onto me; well, you can tell your father when you see him that HIS old man isn't going to back down! If he wants to reunite, he better come down here and apologize for running away like the selfish git he is, damn it…and the chances of that happening is SLIM, so what the HELL does it matter?"

"But it does matter!" Danny countered as he dug his hand inside his pocket, "HERE!" He slammed the fabled pocket watch on the dining table. Naturally, every single person in the room but Danny let out a unison gasp, staring at the watch like some sacred object, not one of them edging closer to it, giving off exaggerated reactions Clark gave off earlier. Finally, Abe slowly extended his hand and gently picked it up by it's chain.

"…Where did you get this?"

"Inside my father's desk drawer in his private studies." Danny smugly answered, arms crossed, eyes half closed.

"…He's had it with him the whole time since he left me?"

"Yes."

"It's…still ticking."

"Well…yeah…but that was through me."

"I…I'd figured he had sold it by now."

"He didn't." Danny shook his head, "Look, the old picture of you and him is still in there." Danny opened the pocket watch and there, behind the glass held the sepia tone picture of Vlad as a child standing contently next to his father. Softly touching the picture with the his fingertips, Abe closed his eyes and unless he had something in his eye, Danny swore he saw a tear come out of Abe's.

"…Umm…you okay?"

"He kept it." Abe spoke and just barely, "…Maybe you're right…maybe I should call him, sit down, and have a nice heart-to-heart chat with--"

"DANIEL!"

What? No! He's here! Wrong timing, wrong timing, wrong timing! Oh, why of all now for him to come? Why couldn't he waited just a few more minutes? Close, so close and now, Danny could feel his plans crumbling into millions of pieces with him watching it while strapped to a chair. What utter torture. Immediately, he and the three males exited the house, Danny halting just near the front door, using all his strength to keep himself from screaming, only to utter a quick yelp because he knew at that precise moment that he would be getting himself into far deeper waters then he intended.

"So…this is where you went off to last time, wasn't it?" came the source of the voice, Vlad, "The Masters' Farm!"

"Vlad." Abe said, his emotions and mannerism rather stoic, not knowing how to react, "So…you've returned…after some twenty plus years."

"SAVE IT, OLD MAN!" Vlad pointed, "I just came for Daniel!"

"Well, this is a fine welcome!" Abe's sorrow from indoors quickly shifted to irraitation, "Most family reunions involves hugs, like your boy did with me."

"M-My boy?" Vlad gasped, raising both eyebrows as he stared at a nervous Danny who muttered a quick smile, staying side by side with Abe and his workers out of fear Vlad would turn ghost right in front of everyone and decapitate his head from his body.

"Yes…YES. My boy!" Vlad cleared his throat, "I told him this place was off-limits, but apparently he chose to disobey his father and you know what happens to children who disobeys their parents!" And with that, he quickly grabbed Danny by the arm and pulled him to his side.

"You are indefinitely grounded until you're 31!" Vlad shouted. Danny didn't shout back, already too deep into this mess and too nervous to utter a word.

"Oh, of course you wouldn't come and visit me without some sort of excuse!" Abe cringed his nose, "Why the hell you kept this watch all these years is a gosh darn mystery to me!" Vlad, shocked, eyed Danny.

"You SHOWED him the watch…no, no, wait, you STOLE my watch and then SHOWED him it?"

"Stole? Of course! Why would you pass it down to him? It's the Masters' tradition and you'd do anything to avoid that. The only thing you're carrying around is our family name!"

"Give me back that watch!" Vlad cried.

"WHY?"

"It's mine!"

"It's the Masters' pocket watch, passed down from generations to generations to hold and to cherish, not hide it in some drawer hoping to forget one's past, you ain't getting it back!"

"…..FINE. Keep the damn thing! Come on, Daniel!" He pulled Danny's arm so roughly that he swore he heard something pop inside. Vlad shoved him in the convertible, cowboy hat and all, and drove off, leaving one angry farmer and two befuddled workers.

"…How did he get here if he just drove that black car home that Danny rode alone? We ain't got no public transportation nearby." Kevin asked.

**………………**

Escaping to his arch-nemesis' manor to escape his family, friends, and past, constantly arguing with him on a daily basis, and discovering he's powers decided to screw him and slowly deplete his life compared to absolutely nothing when one eyed the boiled look on Vlad's face as he drove his car without saying a word. Danny would have so much loved to seat himself on the back seat, but Vlad shoved him to the front next to him without a second thought.

The silence did give Danny time to think, mostly his mind beating himself silly for doing something so ridiculously stupid. How ironic that Vlad, the manipulative rat king who often lied his way to get what he wants pisses off at Danny for doing the same thing. What worried him even more were the very words Vlad uttered two years ago, "_You're more like me then you know_." Manipulation, lies, and fake emotions; he used them all to get Abe to even as so much as embrace the pocket watch. Is that why he came to Vlad's manor? Did he subconsciously believe somewhere inside, he deeply wanted to or already became like a Vlad Jr? Then a sudden realization kicked in when he slowly removed the black cowboy hat he still wore, eyed it, then remembered some of the old photos of Vlad as a child or teen. Vlad's hat. This was Vlad's. Did Abe purposely wanted his "grandson" to substitute as his own son? The stomach pains he felt earlier compared nothing to the one he had now, the butterflies kicking from the inside.

Immediately upon entering the manor entrance, Vlad roughly dragged the boy by his arm again and pushed him inside and pointed to the stairs.

"GO. ROOM. NOW!"

Danny didn't question him, knowing it'll trigger off another argument, so he hastily obeyed and quickly closed his door upon escaping to his room (indefinitly grounded till he turned 31), lowering himself down, back against the door. At least for the time, he'll be safe.

"…How did he find me?" Danny clutched his heart, recovering from the hasty beating from all that drama.

_Okay, stupid question. _Danny thought to himself. _This is Vlad! _Is that why he gave him the car keys, so Vlad, using his ghost powers could fly (not close enough to let ghost senses loose) and see where Danny headed? Did he fake his anger in order to make it more convincing?

One thing's certain, Vlad's current face of anger right now is certainly the real deal. Never in Danny's life had he seen Vlad express such raw emotions pertaining to blowing his top off. Not for all the resistances, battles, and even that one incident during his quest to clone the perfect son which he afterwards just lost it (bless Dani's little heart) could compare to the one glued all over his face. Sure, he didn't cry out in a deep, resounding "_NOoooooooo_", but his current behavior felt more passionate only because when Danny looked at it, the incident became all the more personal, one which Danny could relate. After all, Vlad delved so far into Danny's life, his friends and family both involved with Vlad in someway to his devious little plans. In any other situation, Danny would tell off to Vlad, tell him how HE felt for once when his personal life was barged annoyingly, but instead, he felt a sense of…pity.

Still clutching the cowboy hat, Danny stood up and examined it. He still didn't quite understand why he felt the need to do this. Maybe him slowly dying DID started to affect his thinking. Whatever the case, Danny took out the list from his pocket, snatched the same pencil he use earlier, and wrote the latest in his list of things to do before assumingly taking a trip up to Heaven: "_Reunite the Masters' Family_."  
**To Be Continued…**

**…………………**

**Author's Note: **Okay, okay, I updated, now shut up. Nah, nah, I'm just kidding on that "shut up" part. I appreciate you guys enjoying my story and asking for more and all that jazz. I apologize for the long update, I've been busy making a Danny Phantom website with a friend of mines, so yeah, I've been devoting myself to that a lot (and my comic series and all that stuff). That said, some behind-the-scenes info to get out of the way:

First off, I had some reluctance to put in that little homosexual conversation thinking I might offend someone the way Abe said it, but I when I made Abe, I always viewed him as a rather conservative and old fashioned. I have no problems with different sexual natures people have though and was merely added with no ill intentions, so don't get the wrong idea.

This chapter also served to be the breakthrough point between Danny and Vlad, then I noticed the chapter is already freakishly long as it is, so I'll have to save that for a future chapter, a very close one. I mean, I've already dragged on this damn story long enough and it's really now (and the next planned chapter) where the story REALLY starts to get moving to what the general plot will be overall (let's just say you'll be seeing action in the future to come). And I like cowboy hats, ahahaha.

Oh, and yes, that little dialogue with Dani I AM imploring she has since passed on, possibly from her destabilized form. To me, using her in this story is too much of a hassle (this is a focus on Danny and Vlad, so I don't need a third wheel around). I admit, I never cared much for her (can't say if I like or hate her due to her one appearance that I felt the creators didn't utilize well; she needs to make a comeback before I ultimately judge), but I never EVER liked the idea of a third halfa anyways.


	8. Breakthrough

**Pocket Watch  
****Breakthrough**

**About a week before…**

A front page headline on the newspaper sometime in late April helped Tucker, Sam, and Jazz locate where Danny resided. The news with big, bold black letters that read, "_Danny Phantom saves three in burning barn in Wisconsin_". Immediately Tucker and Sam made plans to leave as soon as possible, though Jazz remained more adlib, remembering Skulker's words on how her only brother refuse to reveal his locations and whereabouts, so she spoke out…

"What? What do you mean we shouldn't go and visit him?" Sam cried out, "He's in WISCONSIN! And do you know who lives in Wisconsin? VLAD!"

"Man, leave it to Vlad to kidnap Danny. I bet he planted that fake "good-bye" letter to let us know Danny was leaving us for a while when in reality he kidnapped him somehow!" Tucker spat, "That sick man needs a less sicker hobby."

"Guys--"

"Yeah, and that's why we better pack some Fenton gears and get moving!"

"Sam! Tucker! Please!"

"WHAT?" The two shouted in unison.

"I don't think the letter's fake and I don't think Danny's in trouble." Jazz stated, "Why else would he have been able to rescue all those people if he was?"

"Maybe Vlad made a robot duplicate to fool us or something." Tucker pointed out, "…What? It's plausible, he made several clones of him, remember?"

"I have it in good conscience that Danny is doing fine and doesn't want to be bothered right now." Jazz sat down on the couch behind her, the two standing friends crouching down and glaring daggers.

"Are you nuts? What is wrong with you? Why aren't you concerned for Danny?" Sam screamed, "What proof do you have that he's okay?"

Jazz eyed the two with fear and concern. Should she really tell them Skulker, one of their enemies came just a short while ago to fetch something secret that only Danny and herself (through rummaging his room) knew?

"Well?" Sam placed her hands on her waists.

"…Skulker came to my house a bit while ago."

"WHAT?" Both of them cried out.

"Stop interrupting. Any who, yes, he came, no, he didn't attack me or anything. In fact, he came to take something that belonged to Danny. A piece of paper that he made when he was a small kid on the list of things he wanted to do before he would die."

"I don't remember Danny having that." Tucker shrugged.

"Even best friends keep secrets for their own personal reasons, Tucker." Jazz pointed out, "Any who, I knew Danny would be fine then. After all, he and I are the only ones who knows about that paper."

"So? Skulker could have figured it out, he's Danny's personal stalker right behind Vlad." Sam crossed her arms, "Hell, maybe Vlad told him to fetch it."

"Why in the world would Vlad want a piece of paper on a list of things he wanted to do before he bought the harp farm?" Jazz asked, raising up, now a bit irritated, "Skulker obviously had no clue what was on that paper either, I could see it in his face. Danny is fine, so take it easy."

"So then what? We don't visit him?" Tucker asked, "Danny doesn't want to see us, is that it? He's our friend."

"Someday he will, but right now, I think he still needs a few cogs to unscrew." Jazz placed each of her hands on both Sam and Tucker's shoulders.

"What if he doesn't though?" Sam asked, "Where the heck is Danny living in? Vlad's the only guy he knows in Wisconsin, there's no way he'd lived with him. NO freakin' WAY!"

"I don't know." Jazz shrugged, "…Okay, how's this? We'll give him until the start of the summer vacation, If he doesn't contact us, we'll go see him, alright? That gives him at least another month and a half, plenty of time."

"I guess." Tucker lowered his head.

"I don't think it's fine!" Sam screeched.

"SAM, PLEASE!" Jazz screeched back, silencing the Goth girl.

"…This is getting ridiculous. How long can Danny stay mad even when he's had a rough couple of months? It's not like him and it's pissing us off." Sam then grumbled, "He had BETTER have a good excuse or else!" She gripped her hands.

**………………**

**And now, back to the present time period…**

Danny would be damned if Vlad would continue shielding him from the outside world and achieving his goals. Starting today, he would set out and work on his list of things to do, whether he liked it or not, so after he left for work, Danny, desperate at this point got out a ladder and a screwdriver from the storage shed fore Vlad placed a security camera in his own room. Undoing the lock without using his ghost powers was simply the matter of undoing it by crowbar which he found after scurrying through all the closets, then the upstairs attic. Danny made a mental note to revisit that place in the near future fore it held a treasure trove of old junk from Vlad's childhood raging from photo albums to magazines from the 70's and 80's to--bingo--Vlad's old journals. Right now, he needed to rush to make this day as full as he could make it.

"Don't give me privacy my ass." Danny mumbled to himself as he now climbed up the ladder and unscrewed the camera off. Afterwards, he quickly dumped it in the trash can, pocketed his list and some money, took Vlad's cowboy hat, and raced downstairs, heading for the front doors.

"Ooh, now where are you off to in a hurry, my boy?"

"I'm off to Clark's general store, Dairy King." Danny stated. Usually whenever Vlad left for work and Danny remained indoors for whatever reason, he fortunately had the Dairy King's ghost to keep him company, although his constant long hours of dairy product monologues became tiresome in given time. That said, the Dairy King made it his business to famously haunt the manor, passing through hallways to and fro in random times. At one point, he poked from below the bathtub from behind while Danny took a shower. Naturally that caused such a scream from the boy that Vlad raced in, kicking the door down causing Danny to scream louder and longer.

"And why are you going there? I thought Vladdie told you to stay put."

"Hey, he's not the boss of me." Danny spoke casually, "I have to complete my list before I die."

"How will you be getting there? Vlad took the only car doncha ya?" Dairy King further probed as he floated behind Danny who had already left the front door, aiming now for the storage shed. Opening the wooden double doors, he fished out a shiny red bicycle.

"This." Danny winked, "Found it when I visited the shed for the first time a while back. Never thought Vlad much of a bicycle person, but I suppose for a forty something man constantly fighting and stuff, he has to keep in shape or something...or maybe it's something he had for years, it was all dusty when I spotted it earlier."

"So, what's the first thing on your list that you're gonna do?"

"If you're so curious, why don't you just follow?" Danny asked, "Just…stay invisible and don't scare anyone." Wearing Vlad's cowboy hat, he left.

**……………………**

"A galleon bucket of chocolate ice cream?" Clark eyed Danny who just dump the bucket of cold cream on the counter by the time he finished speaking.

"Yep…do you mind if I eat if here? I notice you got a table near the window." Danny asked, pointing to the plain slightly dusted table with matching set of chairs before handing him money.

"Nope, I don't, but don't tell me you're going to eat this whole thing yourself." Clark gasped, accepting a five dollar bill.

"YOU GUYS ARE JERKS! I'M RUNNING AWAY!"

Danny saw the youngest of Clark's three children run out from the back door and out to the front, leaving the store carrying nothing but her straw hat in her hand, the other used to wipe the tears off her eyes. Danny stared as she ran off down the street, then faced the back door when he heard the laughter of Roger and Dash.

"Oh-No." Clark lowered his head, balancing it with his hand before it could hit the counter.

"What happen?"

"Just sibling rivalry." Clark urged a small smile, "Poor Sasha, must be hard to grow up without a strong female figure in her life." Danny merely eyed him with the same shocked look he gave when he saw Sasha leave in a huff.

"Oh, the missus isn't around this world anymore."

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry. I'm sure she must be in…Heaven." The last Danny whispered, "She's…running off though, shouldn't you do something about it?"

"Aww, that's what Sasha does, she's running away like some big drama queen." Roger came from back, Dash following behind him like his trained pup, "We told her she's not allow to come with me and Dash to catch some frogs in the woods later."

"Yeah, she's such a crybaby wimp." Dash snickered. Danny eyed the two and gave off a rather annoyed look, "Girls don't catch frogs anyways." Dash concluded.

"Don't worry none, this is common." Clark said, "I'm gonna go over and give those boys a talking."

"Okay." Danny nodded, taking the ice cream bucket to the table, "Hey, if it's not so much trouble, can I have a spoon to borrow?"

"Sure." Then he watched as Clark dragged the two inside.

Danny waited some couple of minutes. He could hear the boys shouting and Clark, bless his heart calmly speaking to them over the mistreatment of their littlest sibling. The boys reaction as they ran up the stairway to their room, stomping on each step with such force indicated their little trip to the woods got cancelled. Afterwards, he returned with a silver spoon, smiling and mumbling, "boys will be boys." Danny eyed his ice cream bucket, assuming the kids merely insulted or picked on Sasha like any typical boys their age and of course, if anyone could relate to that, it would be Danny who had done his fair shares throughout his childhood.

"Are you seriously going to eat all that?" Clark again gasped.

"In under fifteen minutes." Danny grinned, "Watch and be amazed."

Thirteen minutes and twenty six seconds later, Danny finished every last content of the ice cream, then smacked his head on the table, suffering from a terrible case of brain freeze. Clark immediately at this point ran inside and returned with freshly brewed coffee which slightly helped Danny, but it took several minutes before Danny could mutter sentences properly.

"Boy, are you crazy?" Clark slightly raised his voice, a rather rare occurrence for him.

"Nope, I'm just risky." Danny pulled a weak thumbs-up.

He crossed a sentence from his list afterwards "_Eat galleon of ice cream in under fifteen minutes_" off his list, something he wrote back at age twelve.

**………………**

Another visit to the Masters farm showed Abe yelling at someone on the phone upon entering the front door of his house.

"IF YOU THINK I'M GONNA GIVE UP MY LAND WITHOUT A FIGHT, THEN YOU'RE DEAD WRONG, YOU RICH SACK OF CRAP!" Slamming the phone down, his heated face immediately melted upon eyeing Danny whom he hugged, "I thought your father grounded you."

"Err…I was let off for good behavior." Danny casually lied, now becoming something of a regular occurrence for him.

"Great then, let's get you intimate with the farm life again, boy."

"Who the hell were you yelling at it, grandpa?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about, now come on."

"…Nobody tells me anything…just like home." Danny sighed.

Again, Danny fed the cows and cleaned the house. This time he also searched for any laid eggs in the small chicken coop located right of the house and afterwards, went into their vegetable patch to take out any fresh vegetables there. The patch widely held a variety of fresh grown edible plants; tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, and the likes. Abe stated he desire to grow corn in given time, but for reasons unknown, never bothered to get on with it just yet. And be it his own list of things to do before he died, Abe vowed to somehow get Danny to ride a horse. Danny failed once again, lasting on the horse's back for at least some seven minutes before falling off or telling Lila to stop out of fear.

Other then another set of bandages (which fortunately for Danny remained located where Vlad couldn't see it visibly) from that incident, the sun started to set and Danny, putting on a sincere face, declared his time to go home. However, by the time he and Abe walked off to his bike near the entrance to the Masters Farm, a fellow farmer came dashing in, completely out of breath by the time he reached his destination.

"Umm…can I help you?" Danny asked.

"Pete, what the hell's the matter? Snake got inside your pants again? Damn it, Pete, I told you not--"

"NO!" The farmer named Pete wheezed, "Clark's kid's missing. Ya know, the little one…the girl…her name…damn it, I can't--I can't remember for some reason."

"Sasha?" Danny answered.

"YES! She's missing. She's been gone for hours." Pete stated, "The whole town is going nuts looking for her. I came here to ask for anyone's help."

"So the girl finally decided to run away for good? Good Lord." Abe shook his head.

"We're going to go find her, aren't we, grandpa?" Danny asked, giving a sort of innocent, hopeful stare a five year old would give in hopes they'd get a cookie before dinner.

"Well, of course!" Abe cried out, "HANK! KEVIN! Get your asses out here, we got some rescuin' to do!"

**……………**

**Rescue**

The majority of the citizens searched the town, thinking a small eight year old girl wouldn't run off any further which narrowed it down to two sets of roads, one that lead to Vlad's manor and beyond and the other, the woods. Going ghost would have helped so much in this daring mission. Having managed to go some 180 miles now, Danny could have done a much better job eyeing from the sky then he could on foot. Dairy King didn't seem to be around to do it for him, indicating the chubby ghost didn't follow him after all. Everybody got insanely desperate, even mischievous Roger and Dash plastered worried looks all over their faces, the younger brother trying in vain to shove back any tears that came down his face.

He didn't know for sure if she did go out beyond or into the woods, but he remembered the boys refusing to let their sister in on their once planned trip to catch frogs there. Perhaps she had gone herself, all alone to prove them wrong. Not saying a word, he took his bike and pedaled the trail leading to the wide masses of trees seen far ahead.

**…………………**

When Vlad opened the front doors to see the entire manor's lights off, he immediately started to boil up.

"He didn't…" He mumbled to himself. Turning on every light of the rooms and hallways he passed to get upstairs to Danny's room, he gripped the doorknob tightly and just stood there.

"Please be in your room, please be in your room, please." Opening the doors, he's suspicion turned true, his wishes flattened and stomped. Eyeing the ladder and screwdriver Danny carelessly left and the corner of the upper wall where the security camera should be. He quickly ran to the storage shed outside to find it equally carelessly opened, the crowbar resting on the side so casually. Vlad put two and two together and let off a violent tantrum.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

**……………………**

The sky already turned a brilliant shade of blue by the time he reached it. Stars adorned it until they were quickly covered by storm clouds. Trees rustled as the wind started to pick up. Danny hoped to find her before rain started to fall, having fail to bring an umbrella. Unfortunately, such hasty decisions, the breezy winds, and the darkened sky caused Danny to revert off the wrong course and stumble down a small, yet steep cliff, the bike crash landing nearby a thick path of bushes.

"Oh, criminy!" Danny muttered. Try as he might, Danny couldn't pull the bike out, heavily entangled by the bushes' branches, refusing to let go as if they finally found an object to play with. Danny let off a frustrated groan, kicked the stuck bike, and climbed his way back off the cliff. He ran along the given trail until he found a crossroad with two paths. Perfect. To make matters more hell to him, Danny's ghost sense let off.

"Oh-No, no, please." Danny shuddered, "Please…don't be a bad ghost. I don't need this right now." The so-called ghost he sensed seem to draw closer to him, but it couldn't be spotted. Invisible, it might be. It passed Danny disguised as a huge gust of winds and leaves combined, causing Danny to clutch onto his hat as it flew passed him for the next minute or so. The wind it surrounded itself apparently blew so violently, Danny toppled and fell, still clutching onto his hat. The trees frayed too and fro and the wind itself sounded very much like a roar then a whoosh. It's like a jet just took off right above him. After that fiansco, he clumsily stood up, his expressions were no less then awe. Whatever that ghost looked like, it didn't take long to know it felt huge. VERY huge. Danny finally snap long enough to take the right trail, away from the ghost which took the left, making his way to a lone stone bridge where he found Sasha…

**………………**

"Abe, we got bad news." Hank ran towards his boss, "We got another kid missing now."

"Oh, GEEZ, WHO?" Abe screeched.

"Danny. He's gone, too."

"…Shit." Abe stomped his foot around and flailed his arm, "What the hell? Did that boy get lost trying to find Sasha?"

"I don't know."

"This CANNOT get possibly worse!"

"I think it's about to." Hank pointed. Abe faced his direction and his eyes widen. Vlad. He immediately spotted him and ran in his direction.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"

"Boy, if I knew, he'd probably be right besides me." Abe crossed his arms.

"DAMN IT, OLD MAN! JUST TELL ME WHERE THE HELL DANIEL IS!"

"He's missing." Hank stepped in.

"…WHAT?"

"Damn it, Hank!" Abe hissed.

"What? I thought he'd like to know." Hank shrugged.

"H-He's missing? What do you MEAN he's missing? How the HELL can he be missing?"

"Hell if I know, he must've gotten lost while we were looking for Sasha."

"SASHA? WHO THE HELL IS SASHA? WHY AREN'T YOU LOOKING FOR DANIEL? OH, MY GOD! DANIEL!" Vlad immediately started searching the entire town.

**…………………**

"SASHA!"

"Danny?" Came the voice of the small eight year old girl with the straw hat. From the looks of her face, she'd been crying.

"Geez, kid, everybody's been looking for you!" Danny ran over to her, "Nobody's bother to look here, so I just took a shot in the dark and some vague clues and manage to find you here…luckily."

"You look hurt." Sasha squeaked.

"Oh, I fell down a cliff and got my bike destroyed…it's alright, don't worry about it." Danny reassured, "Now come on, we better go before the rain starts and--" Danny didn't finish speaking seeing as the small girl now locked her arms around his waist, crying into his shirt.

"…I…I never had a boy rescue me before." She whimpered.

"…Oh…I see." He lowered his head to see her's which once again filled with tears, her cheeks now rosy, "Come on, let's go home."

"Do I have, too? Can't you live with me in the woods? I hate my brothers." Sasha pulled his hand.

"Look, I know they can be jerks, but that's normal." Danny said.

"But they keep doing it." Sash puffed, "I hate them. I hate them all! If mom was here, she'd never stand for this!"

"Well, she isn't and you have to do your best to not let your brother's words get the best of you." Danny, seeing Sasha stifling beneath her cries and trying to make a response prompt him to kneel to her level, "Look, it happens. I should know, I have a sister and we used to fight ALL the time when we were about your age."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but we also had a great time together and we got along much better as we got older." Danny nodded, "Don't tell me Roger and Dash always ruins your life."

"…No, not always. Sometimes they invite me when we go the beach or exploring for lost treasures and stuff." Sasha mumbled.

"See?"

"…Okay, I'll come home." Sasha muttered, gripping Danny's hand, something she took a rather good glee from.

Danny's experience with small children dated as far back as his he can remember, but Dani however served somewhat as a little sister to him from the few times he's stuck with her, before she disappeared for good. He realized then at that moment how much he could relate to Jazz and why she often doted on him. Taking the experiences he knew, he held onto Sasha's hand tight, vowing to bring this little child home, giving her as much comfort as possible in between. Somehow, at this moment, he felt actually what Jazz felt at his age: like an adult. Unfortunately by this point, a loud clap of thunder and lightning occurred and rain quickly poured over the two.

"Fantastic." Danny sighed. Again, to make matters even more complicated, the wind started to pick up and again his ghost sense let loose. With a quick gasp, he gripped Sasha's hand tighter and eyed his surroundings, the little girl curiously eyeing the older individual and why he seems dead set on moving his head in all possible angles while standing.

"Danny, why aren't we going?"

"DUCK!" Danny pushed Sasha to the ground as the strong burst of wind and leaves bypassed them again, Sasha letting off a huge scream that largely went drowned. When the wind calmed a bit, Danny and Sasha got up and eyed the direction the huge gust of wind passed.

"Danny, what was that? It was so strong."

"…I don't know." Danny mumbled, "Come on, we better go."

Indeed, what WAS that? This creature, this supposed ghost…no, some sort of super ghost. It felt so strong, completely different from any encounters he ever faced. It's like all the ghosts he's fought since he gained his powers somehow decided to all merge together into one colossal being. Some sort of forest spirit who thought Danny and Sasha disturbed? Something more maybe..?

**………………**

Sasha ran into her father's arms the minute she caught sight of him, crying and apologizing for running off. Much to her surprise, even Roger and Dash expressed their worries over their little sister. The rest of the town members smothered Danny and praised him as a hero. Danny tried his best to give off a surprised expression, but having been "Danny Phantom" for two years, the word "hero" bounced off him casually. He didn't expect coughs and a loud sneeze coming afterwards from his mouth though. The rain, still pouring obviously started to take it's affect on him.

"That doesn't sound good, better take you back to the house." Abe suggested, "Alright everyone, go on home before you end up like my grandson here! Hank, Kevin, come on!"

"Shouldn't we wait for your son, he's still looking for Danny." Hank asked.

"He knows where to find us, Danny's health is more important right now."

"I-I'm fine, really." Danny struggled.

"Save your energy, kid. Let's go!"

**…………………**

**Breakthrough**

Danny didn't make much of an effort arguing back later on against Abe that he needed to return back to the manor. The rain took it's toll on him, rendering him cold.

"You ain't leaving until you feel better or you'll risk pneumonia or something." Abe said, trying to drag the boy into his house. Inside, while Hank, on Abe's order, went off to set up a room for Danny, Kevin busied himself in the kitchen preparing him hot tea. Abe took this time to push Danny onto the couch and wrap a blanket around him, then running out and back with a first aid kit to mend his wounds.

"You are really something, you know that?" Abe said as he started to rub iodine on Danny's arms.

"T-Thanks."

"Seems like you've done this hero gig before or something." Danny's response to that merely came out as nervous laughter.

"Well, once I get you healed, then you're going straight to bed or that cough'll get worse."

"But what about dad?"

"Oh, well, he should come here pretty soon." Abe answered, "He was here earlier looking for you while you were off looking for Sasha."

"H-He was?" Danny gulped, "…He wasn't mad, was he?"

"Please, mad would be an understatement."

"O-Oh." Danny gripped the back of his neck. He knew the risks involved when leaving Vlad's manor without his permission, but an angry Vlad equaled an unpleasant Vlad. He expects their latest meeting will once again deteriorate into another argument.

"DANIEL!"

"There he comes." Kevin mumbled from the kitchen. Danny halted Abe and stood up, slowly walking outside.

"Daniel, it's still raining, get back here before your cold gets worse!" Abe screamed, "Vladimir can come inside himself!" Drowning out his words, Danny ignored Abe and walked out the front door as if in a trance where he could see Vlad running towards him, even more so now that he eyed Danny walking out into the rain. He ran so fast however that he tripped and fell, landing in newly created mud from the rain, ruining his dark business suit and neatly groomed hair, letting him curse off a stream of dirty words. Danny let off a small gasp and ran up to him, trying to help him up, getting mud on him as well. Now wet AND dirty, Danny and Vlad both eyed each other. To the young boy's shock, Vlad slapped him clear across the face.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? RUNNING OFF…AGAIN! YOU DIDN'T EVEN HIDE THE FACT THAT YOU TORE OF THE DAMN VIDEO CAMERA!"

"I had to, you were basically making me a prisoner in your own home!"

"I wanted to PROTECT YOU!"

I don't NEED protection! I need to you stop treating me like I'm helpless!"

"DON'T sass at me like that! You should have stayed home!" Danny coughed as his next response.

"And you have a COLD! A COLD! Boy, are you looking for a death wish?"

"I-I'm…_cough_…FINE…_cough!_"

"NO! No, you are not fine!"

"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TREAT ME LIKE A BABY?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE DYING!"

The tears Vlad tried to hold finally let loose. Danny merely watched in typical anger, sick and tired of all these arguments, all these disagreements, all this crap. Maybe he should just die out here in the rain just to get away from Vlad's constant overprotection. _You're not my dad! _It's funny how he thought that at that very moment, right here, in the rain next to a house where Abe and his workers watched from afar, because after that very precise moment of thought, Vlad did something he never expected. He hugged him. No, scratch that, he hugged him and cried. Naturally, the boy was speechless.

"Daniel…I was devastated when I found out you were missing. You didn't know how scared I was. I looked everywhere and just slowly lost hope when I couldn't find you. I just…I didn't know what to do then. I couldn't think straight. All I kept thinking about was if you were hurt or worse. I don't care how many times I hurt you or you hurt me. I don't care how many times we throw ourselves into battle over even the most pettiest reasons. I don't care anymore. All I care about is YOU!

…I thought I lost you, my little badger."

Danny's first reaction after that big speech didn't involve yelling or punching him in frustration. It didn't seem to matter anymore; the battles, Vlad's constant flirts over Maddie, his desire to kill Jack, his urge to force Danny into his world, Dani's existence and lose, his future evil self, it didn't matter, it just didn't…because right then and there, Danny burst into tears and cried.

**To Be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **Hmmm, I think I updated a little earlier then I usually do with this chapter. That's like a first for me, heh. That said, the breakthrough has happened, a possible powerful superghost might be on the loose, and the story is taking a new, different turning point. Now we get the heart of the matter, so prepare yourselves.


	9. He's Very Much Like You

**Pocket Watch  
****He's Very Much Like You**

**Remembrance is a Keepsake**

Fate refused to be any kinder to Vlad. Aside from having to wear his father's clothing (neither stocky Hank's nor shorter Kevin's fitted him) until his own washed and dried off. He was also forced to stay in the Masters' Farm for the duration of three days upon Danny resting in Vlad's old room, empty since he's departure some twenty plus years ago. Soaked from the drizzling rain, Danny obviously succumb to illness and developed a cold that gradually evolved into a small fever, one plenty of rest, love, and soup managed to fix. So it was out of concern that Vlad stayed and constantly monitored Danny's activities to which little actually happened. Majority of the time, the boy lied in bed sleeping, occasionally mumbling something about a "big ghost". Vlad never made much of it, assuming it to be a past foe he could have bested.

However, gazing into his old childhood room didn't help ease any discomfort he felt at that current moment. The very rectangular nature of the room felt like the wooden walls were closing in on him, begging him to stay put for once. Indeed, as much as he once treasured this room as a sort of safe haven whenever his father didn't barge in, he would never stay in it for too long, just to escape his father's wrath as much as possible.

Right of his bed (which still held the indigo drenched blanket and feather stuffed pillows, although for Danny, Abe gave him a couple more of the former to keep warm) stood his rickety chair, one of it's leg shorter then the other which always caused annoying back and forth movement whenever he sat on it. The desk next to said chair where he'd spend time doing either homework, drawing pictures of whatever imaginations he held at that time (space cowboys), or even write stories based on said imaginations. The desk now surrender to dust and emptiness with the only item on top being his old white lamp decorated with cows and picket fences, and a couple of pictures of him as a child, one of him alone at around the age of 12 and another with friends. Vlad noticed his third picture vanished: a picture of himself as a boy and his mother, no doubt possibly taken away from his father once he left. How annoying.

He had his own bathroom and closet, the latter empty due to him taking all his clothes the moment he left for college, a television set with rabbit ear antennas, and in a small fit of irony, a bookshelf next to the TV, half of which contained old comic books of his youth (he had a particular fondness for Batman). A chest stood besides his bed, still filled with old toys and action figures he's acquired, most of which being Star Wars which he remembered as a teenager of being quite the fanatic for it. Eyeing his ceiling, he noticed his airplane models still graced above, tied to a string, forever hovering in mid-air from support. There stood a drawer next to the closet where addition clothes and undergarments went, also empty. More photos graced on top of it, but again the lack of any of his mother irritated him.

Vlad's only been to Danny's room at least once or twice over the years and never thought much of it other then it being a typical room for any growing teenage boy (although at one point, he hacked into Danny's computer for advantage purposes), but now, looking back at his own room, the discomfort washed away and he remembered how much of a boy he once was. Despite his father issue, Vlad had a fondness for his farm and loved everything about it. He loved getting up at the crack of dawn and working, never once bored since he always had something to do. He loved the smell of grass after a hard night of rain, he loved eyeing the picture perfect evening sky after a glorious sunset when the stars would come out afterwards, he loved running in Olympic speeds around the vast fields, he loved taking naps atop the hills nearby.

He's favorite parts of the job involved the many animals; the horses, the cows, the chickens, and his two dogs. Time passing caused most of the animals he knew and loved to have passed on, fortunately carried on by their offspring, but he noticed a grave lack of them, mostly notably the cows (seeing as his family worked as daily farmers) and that the farm in general lost that sense of springy and optimistic world he once saw it to be.

The entire Masters' land waved an air of depression: the house he grew up didn't seem to garner much care over the years as such areas seem more dilapidated then others: broken window panes, dusts and spider webs in all four corners of the house, the rain gutter caked with dead leaves, woods covered in dirt, paint peeling off, a far cry from the farm his father paid so close attention to, now he didn't seem to care. It's like he stopped caring or is just doing a poor job caring for it. He possessed an angry side which often clouded his judgment, but Vlad never knew Abraham Masters to be anything but concern over his family's farm.

And that hat, that black cowboy hat, his hat. It sat there ideally by on his rickety chair as if teasing him. Does it still fit him? He received that hat upon his tenth birthday, too big for him to fit then, but he wore it with a ounce of pride either way. Slowly taking the headwear, he gracefully put it on his head and eyed the mirror located right across from his room from out the doorway. Well, it fit him now, even matching his black slacks and dress shirt.

"…Mom?"

Vlad, lost in memory quickly snapped and turned around upon hearing Danny's voice. He almost forgot about him.

"Daniel?"

Struggling under the amount of blankets, Danny stuck his head out, his entire face beet red from the overbearing heat, dressed in gray shirts and pants from Kevin's closet of clothes and even then it didn't quite fit him due to his general lanky figure.

"Geez, I'm not THAT sick, am I?"

"Oh, Daniel." Vlad kneel down and placed a hand on his forehead, "Hmm, your temperature seems to have dropped. That's good. How are you feeling though?"

"Groggy…and I feel like I have to throw up." Danny mumbled to which Vlad quickly backed off upon hearing the words "throw up". His shirt already suffered faded brown spots from falling into mud a few days ago even after numerous attempts to wash it off, he certainly didn't need mixed regurgitated foods in the mix.

"…I said FEEL, not actually going to." Danny sighed, "…Are you wearing my hat?" Vlad eyed, confused until he realized the boy eyeing the cowboy hat, so he quickly took it off.

"It's not your hat, it's mine's rightfully." Vlad quickly corrected. Despite leaving it behind years back, he felt the need to reassure some pride in himself, damned if he thinks Danny could outtalk him.

"Ahh, now that's the Vlad I know and loathe." Danny joked, "Who's room is this?"

"Father never showed you?"

"No." He shook his head.

"…It's mine's."

"Really? I never would have guessed." Danny chuckled, "It looks too much fun to be your room."

"Keep in mind I once was your age, Daniel."

"Now there's a shocker."

"You're not helping the both of us." Vlad sternly snapped.

"Sorry." Danny nodded, "…It looks like a great room. I suppose if I lived as a teenager during like the 70's, I'd have loved this room, too. I mean…you got airplane models, a TV, I see a couple of action figures…Stars Wars fan, are you?"

"What I liked as a child is none of your concern." Vlad stated, "What's more important is your recovery."

Danny only made a lazy nod until--  
"…Oh, where's my pants? The list!"

"Your pants was in the wash, it's dry now, I suppose. No one's checked it yet."

"What--no! The list!" Danny quickly leaped out of bed, ready to dash to the laundry room (despite not knowing where it was) until Vlad produced a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.

"You mean this? Found it before we washed your pants. Always good to check if you have anything in your pocket before washing."

Danny took a big sigh of relief. Vlad casually placed the paper on Danny's hand and gave off a smirk which in Danny's head indicated Vlad generally possessed something up his sleeve.

"…Did you read this?" Kind of a rhetorical question, but to Danny's surprise, Vlad shook his head.

"No." Danny however gave off a mixed feeling with that answer and merely sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the loose leaf.

"Although if I may ask…what the hell is it?"

"…A list…I made when I was little and continued on through now." Danny said as he unfolded it once more, "A list of things to do before I die."

"Oh…I see." A disappointed look graced Vlad's face. To create and actively finish a list of things to do before he departed not only filled him with a sense of sorrow, but discouragement when Danny didn't even attempt to put forth faith in a possible cure for his ailment. Curiously, Danny grasp onto his supposed death very fast and most of his anger directed primary to Vlad's mistreatment of him. That however didn't stop Vlad from pondering if death remained too sensitive of a subject to discuss with Danny, an issue he hoped to one day sort it out with him, to see how Danny truly felt and see if the emotions he currently possessed merely served as a mask hiding his actual identity.

"That said, I got long ways to go, so I have to get started on it as soon as I can." Danny pointed out.

"Can I see the list?"

"…No." Danny shook his head, "I…I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"…Because…" Eyeing Vlad remained Danny of all the previous arguments. If he hid his desires to help Vlad and his family, would it only further anger him or only if he told? Contemplating over this issue for a bit, Danny afterwards gave off of a forthright sigh and slowly handed the list over to him, knowing in the end, the more he trusted Vlad, the more Vlad would trust him.

And so Vlad read it over, some of which indeed, came from the imagination of a child: "Eat a worm" crossed out) , "find buried treasure, "peek under girl's dress (also crossed out)."

"E-Excuse me?" Vlad smirked.

"I wrote that one when I was nine and curious, okay!" Danny blushed madly, "That said, when I did that, she never forgave me and still doesn't like to talk to me to this day." Vlad's face beamed with smugness as he continued reading the list, some of which seemed very impossible to achieve at this time ("be an astronaut", "ride on a hot air balloon") while others served to be a bit easier to retain ("Ride a motorcycle", "plant a tree", "get a dog").

"I've always wanted a dog, but my parents never let me got one." Danny said, "I suppose the closest I've ever come was that ghost dog. I nicknamed him Cujo and he generally goes by that name whenever fate shines down on me and the two of us reunite somehow or another."

Such an amusing list and all the more fitting over Danny's growing personality over the years as a child to teenager, however Vlad's general amused mannerism shifted 180 degrees when he spotted the last one written: "_Reunite the Masters' Family_". With that read, he slowly gazed at Danny who immediately knew what he read, so he gave off a pathetic innocent smile.

Again Danny gave off a surprised notion when Vlad didn't scream at him, merely saying, "You're asking for the impossible." Then he handed the list back and stood up.

"Nothing's impossible, Vlad." Danny softly said, "Men was never meant to fly, but look at us."

"…My relationship with this farm…and my father died years ago." He walked off after.

**…………………**

**The Same**

"The only way to get your strength back is to work." Abe immediately declared on the fourth day, the day Danny finally leaped out of bed. After one hearty breakfast, Abe again gave Danny appropriate farm clothes to don to get "his strength" back. Naturally Vlad gave off an annoyed look upon seeing him in dirty jeans, plaid shirt, and his old hat.

"Daniel, you are aware you live with me in a giant manor." Vlad said, "And you are also aware we have to GO BACK there."

"In a minute, I'm getting my strength back." Danny half teased, "I'm just helping--ahaha--dear ol' grandpa with work. I'll be done by sundown."

"S-Sundown?" Vlad gritted his teeth.

"If you don't want to stay, then go and pick me up later." Danny suggested, then he left for his first set of chores.

Vlad, perhaps out of a mixed stubborn desire and general concern for Danny stayed, but mostly in the background, refusing to partake in work ("I'm not a farmer!") and only eyeing Danny from a distance, arms crossed, shoulders up, and lips pouty. Further adding insult to injury, seeing Danny interact so comfortably with Abe and the man treating his "grandson" so warmly made Vlad's face red with jealously, bitter how the two got along so brilliantly when he never got along with neither: Either as a son or a father. It pain him the most whenever Danny affectionately called Abe his "grandfather" when he never heard a lick of Danny ever calling him "father" out of sincerity. What a heavy irony Vlad bestowed upon himself that he once vowed to be a better father should the opportunity ever arise then his old paternal figure yet he so far failed to achieve such a goal while Abe seem to have learned some sense of a lesson as evident with Danny, treating him so warmly as oppose to the more colder inclusion he did towards him.

Besides that, Vlad generally observed how Danny worked the farm life. The boy surprisingly adapted well and seem to really enjoy his stay. Ho resilient children can be. He, like Vlad in his youth seem to favor spending the most time with animals. The horses, the cows, and chickens, they all favor the boy almost in the same manner as they did Vlad. Seeing him caused several déjà vu moments.

Sunset approached and Vlad witness Danny's latest struggle: Lila. Again Abe used all his power to get Danny to succeed in riding the horse, but every time he always fell. A frustrated Abe walked away when Hank called him to answer an important phone call, relieve not to hear Danny let off a stream of curses for every failed attempt, leaving Vlad behind wooden fences eyeing the huge grassy field. There Danny again tried in vain to get on top of his horse and stay still for more then ten minutes. Vlad at this point left the fence and headed towards the horse stable. After numerous attempts, Danny let off a frustrated sigh and decided to give in for the night until Vlad stepped in, carrying a black horse.

"Vlad?"

"Get up." He ordered. Danny however just gave off a confused, startled stare, "Come on, boy, I don't have all day. I want this done before the first star peeps it's way from the sky, now get on the damn horse."

Danny made a slow nod and using all his strength, manage to get on top, then waited until Vlad did the same which he did with little relative ease.

"The problem with you and the horse is the lack of a relationship the two of you have." Vlad started.

"Hey! I have plenty good relationship! I fed her, nuzzled her, groomed her and all that stuff." Danny cried out.

"I meant riding wise. You need to show the horse you're the boss." Vlad said, "Father's always been a crappy teacher when it comes to teaching riding lessons since not a lot of people can get it the first few times, so it frustrates him and causes him to scream his ass off a lot."

"Tell me about it."

"I had to teach myself as a result." Vlad continued, "Alright, we're getting the horse to walk first. Follow my lead and this time, don't screw up."

Befuddled, baffled, those seem to be the words adequately describing Danny's current thoughts during that time. Vlad, Mr. Rich Man of the Year, known to the public as some well to do tycoon who would have little to do with people like this, is now riding on a horse and gesturing Danny to follow in his footstep. Never in Danny's life could he see Vlad in the same light he saw now. Everything about him turned completely different, different to the point where he felt so…simple.

Walking on Lila soon turned into running as Danny spent more then his initial ten minutes without falling off, getting the hang of horseback riding, surprised at what an effective teacher Vlad was. In just half an hour's time, Danny laughed at his success and Vlad, for the first time since he stumbled into his old home laughed along with him, even giving off an affectionate pat on the back, one which Danny didn't mind, surprisingly. The animosity between the two seem to wipe clean, if not for just this day as the two eyed each other with some newfound respect for one another. Danny didn't see a cruel manipulative business man and Vlad didn't see a teenage boy whom he could exploit to his side. In essence, this felt like an honest to goodness father/son moment.

Upon seeing his own father Abe watching upon his return, it dawned on Vlad how much he and Danny shared the same similarities and not just similarities on their current personalities and half ghost, but how much the boy served as a living incarnation of Vlad's youth. He realized then he didn't love Danny just because he could blast the same ecto ray out of his hands or that he came out of Maddie, he loved Danny for just Danny, and that put a sincere smile on his face.

**……………………**

**How He Really Feels**

"Here." He gently placed the pocket watch next to Vlad on the kitchen table.

"…You're giving it back to me?" Vlad pointed to himself with raised eyebrows. Some hour or so passed since the successful horse riding lessons. Danny decided to head home, skipping dinner, if not to cater towards Vlad's side for the recent event they spent together, a token of his appreciation, one could say. However, when the two reached his still fancy black convertible, a drowsy Abraham asked for Vlad to step inside for a brief moment. Due to his rather less then hostile tone of voice, Vlad entered, but with caution into the kitchen where the pocket watch now stood right next to him.

"I'm not giving it back to you, I'm spiritually giving it to Daniel."

"Excuse me?"

"…There's a lot of things I wanna yell at you about right now." Abe started, "I think you're an ignorant son, you just don't see it--"

"I am NOT ignorant. You're just a terrible father!" Vlad raised his voice.

"--However, Daniel is my grandson and as such, he's entitled to take part in our family tradition." Abe continued.

"…You're asking me to hand down the pocket watch…to him?"

Abe casually nodded.

"I…I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not?"

"I…"

"You love him, don't you?"

"What?"

"Don't you?"

Vlad's head retorted back. Normally, such a question asked would usually cause him to curl his lips into a devious smile as he lowered his eyebrows to form his familiar grin as he answered with a malicious "yes", but now he gave off a more honest, serene appearance, if not a bit offended Abe would ask him such a daring question now that his love for Danny reached new boundaries, one Vlad even from two short years back would never have thought such a feeling.

"Of course I do! What kind of a stupid question is that?"

"Then why won't you give him the watch? This means a lot to me, our family, and apparently it must mean on some level to you, otherwise…why would you still have it?"

"I'm keeping it as a reminder, old man." Vlad answered, arms now crossed over his chest, "The watch means nothing more to me then to help me realize that it once belonged to the man who ruined whatever crappy childhood I had!"

"Oh, now you're making shit up!"

"I don't have to sit here and take this kind of abuse, not anymore anyways!" Vlad screeched, "Daniel doesn't need to get involved any more then he already is! I'm already irritated he discover this godforsaken place!"

"Godforsaken? Just a couple of hours ago, you were having a ball!"

"I was teaching him how to properly ride a horse because you've always been a blatantly terrible instructor!"

"That's it then, you don't give a shit about our tradition." Abe shook his head, "Why the hell does this thing still exist? Why isn't it rotting in some pawn shop held by someone who isn't related to us? Or broken into little pieces? Why the HELL do you have this watch STILL if you don't care jack for the damn thing?"

"I already explained to you--"

"No, no you didn't."

"Fine, let's go with that! I don't care!"

"I suppose you won't care that our farm is in critical stage as well."

"Obviously!" As if the rundown house wasn't enough of a sight to behold in the grand scale of battered habitats.

"I meant this farm is in danger of being annihilated!"

"…What?"

"Yeah, you heard me. This farm, this farm that's been in our family for hundreds of years is about to get crushed to make room for some big company or…or something by some big shot who wants this land for their own damn reason!"

For a moment, it seemed Vlad staggered over this massive bombshell of a news. His level of sentimentally raised considerably that not even the most advanced maneuver of his face could hide the drooping eyebrows and half open mouth. However, such an appearance came rather quick as upon seeing Abe give off a shocked expression towards his expression, quickly mask it to his original, callous figure.

"I…I'm going now."

"That's it, run out. It's what you've always been doing. Run, run like the spoiled bastard that you are. Go on, screw your family even further." The glove's came off and Vlad let it rip.

"Screw? SCREW? That's ALL you've been doing for the majority of MY youth, screwing me around!" Vlad slammed his fist, "You're the reason why mother's not around anymore! YOU! You're the reason why I ran away from this place, hoping to never set foot in it!"

"This place is your home!"

"This place is a rat shit! This place is just memories, memories I've spent the last twenty or so years trying to wash it ALL down, until Daniel came and brought all back up to me!"

"DON'T blame Daniel in all this!"

"Don't you DARE start treating him like he's YOUR kid!"

"Better me then you! Hiding away the Masters' family farm and traditions away from that kid, spoiling him with your money, you're the worst father alive!"

"Now I'm GLAD this dump is getting bulldozed by that company! If I ever find out who the hell is in charge of that, I might be kind enough to donate some of _my_ money towards them! I'm sure a random nuclear power plant or another building would make this place more lively then whatever crap you have NOW!"

"Vlad--"

"NO! NO, father! DON'T. Don't you DARE try and reason with me, you've lost that right YEARS ago!" The next words he spouted came out without a thought that shocked both of them and those nearby, "…I. HATE. YOU!"

Vlad, huffy, grabbed the watch and bolted out the doorway.

**……………**

Upon seeing him haphazardly walk over to the convertible while mumbling the word "father" mixed with enough profanity to fill a sailor's mouth, Danny quickly eyed the other direction and kept his mouth shut. He didn't question nor guess what could have happened, the kid already knew, so he just shook his head and quietly muttered to himself, "This is going to take some time…something I can't afford." After he mumbled that, he mentally slapped himself for thinking so negatively.

He had so much to do, so much to accomplish, so many ghosts to speak. Ghosts. That giant invisible one. What on earth was that thing? What's it's purpose? What's it's goal? Too tired to think from work and horse riding lessons, Danny made a mental note to pass this information to Vlad as soon as possible. He just wanted to know more about this mysterious entity some more.

Eyeing the sleeping Danny, Vlad smiled until his lips drooped. Despite the heated rivalry they previously shared, how would Vlad react if Danny ever came up to him and cried out, whether it be sincerity or out of pure rage that he hated him?  
**To Be Continued…**

**…………………**

**Author's Note: **I call this my writer's block chapter. I can't remember if Danny ever said he hated Vlad in front of him in the TV show (this is out of memory), but I'm sure he hasn't. I don't think I added that at all in this fanfic either (how sad, I can't remember some parts of my own fic, but hey, I have a crappy memory), so...yeah.


	10. Treasure Hunt

**Pocket Watch  
Treasure Hunt**

**In No Particular Order…**

1. Plant a Tree  
2. Ride a motorcycle  
3. Ride on a hot air balloon.  
4. Eat a galleon of ice cream (crossed out)  
5. Find buried treasure.  
6. Reunite the Masters' family.  
7. Make peace with ghosts, family, and friends  
8. Go to Mars (crossed out)9. Watch a sunrise  
10. Visit all 7 continents  
11. Write a Will  
12. Hang out with friends and family one last time  
13. Reveal ghost powers to parents.  
14. Get a puppy

Everything on the list signified accomplishments Danny had yet to achieve, recently only crossing out the Mars option, knowing full well this served to be an impossibility at this stage (a thought he repeatedly noted to himself to lessen the burden). He set about working on number eleven, having written half of it down for upon his departure a week and a half after he and Vlad returned home from the Masters' farm. The rest he spent on resting or thinking up the order on which to go about his list. His other worry stemmed from the so-called giant ghost he felt, one which he didn't tell Vlad yet out of fear he's emotions would go out of control if he dropped another potential bombshell. It didn't help that for reasons untold, Vlad spend the next three days mostly in the Ghost Zone, unaware he'd play any part on his makeshift list…

…Until he awoke one fine, shiny morning feeling wet on the face and smelling bad breath. Opening his eyes to see a set of fangs and a drippy tongue, Danny let off a quick scream, leaping away quickly before calming down when he realized his guest appeared to be the familiar green furred pup he occasionally associated with.

"Cujo!" Danny took a breath before lifting the little mutt, "How did you find me? Is your nose THAT good?" Cujo merely barked happily before slobbering Danny with kisses, the boy grateful at least the pup remain in normal dog size as it's usually bigger, more furious side would have create far more craziness with a broken bed and a possibly squished Danny with it.

**……………**

"Good morning, Daniel…Cujo." Vlad greeted upon the arrival of the two for breakfast.

"You're not all that surprised to see a ghost dog here…did you have some part in this?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"I spent days searching for that mutt to help you on your list. You got a puppy, now be happy another one is done." Vlad calmly replied.

"THIS pup?" Danny chuckled, "This is why you wasted three days in the Ghost Zone? To find this little troublemaker?"

"I admit the little furball is a tad bit excitable, but it seems to be quite obedient."

"…Yeah. Used to be trained to be a guard dog before it passed away." Danny smiled, "…Thanks."

"You're welcome." Vlad, about to sip his tea just stopped then, "Oh--and since he's your dog, I expect you to claim full responsibilities for him, meaning I will not be the one picking up his waste. And so help me, that pup had better be trained VERY well enough to know NOT to pee on the carpet."

"Okay." Danny giggled, Cujo mulling nearby him, begging for food.

"I took a lot of thought and risks in bringing a live animal into my house, so don't give me any reasons to take him back."

"Yes, sir." Danny saluted, then eyed Cujo, "…You did buy dog food, right?"

Vlad gestured towards the kitchen where a giant sack of kibbles awaited to be open. Taking that in cue, he ripped the bag open, poured enough contents in one a dog dish Vlad fortunately bought alongside the kibbles (he'd be damned if the pup used his good china to spread canine saliva over it), then watched peacefully as Cujo stuffed it's face. Funny, to see ghosts eating when food wouldn't be such a necessity to them.

When he felt he could leave Cujo along for a few minutes (anything goes with that pup), Danny seated himself and stuffed his face with bacon in relative peace, neither one hesitating to start a topic of conversation nor giving any sense of facial emotions outside of stoicism; naturally, it provided awkward moments the two uneasily refused to admit. The sense of nervousness thankfully dropped when the doorbell rang.

"Now who on Earth could that be?" Vlad mumbled half to himself, half to Danny, "It couldn't be one of my business partner, now is it?" Opening the door, he faced not a business man of his height, but three tykes to which he glared down from, Clark's children, all three eyeballing him back with fear in their eyes, intimidate by this dark figure before them.

"What do you want? If you're selling cookies, I'm not interested." Vlad snapped. All three however continued to stare, "…If you're not going to say a word, I'm closing the door."

"Wait!" Roger cried out, "…I heard that someone we know lives here…Danny Masters, your son?"

"Big, tall, cute." Sasha stepped in to describe.

"Cute? Get a clue!" Dash harped, prompting the small girl to argue back.

"Hey, shut up! I'm trying to talk here!" Roger stepped in, acting as a brief referee.

"How do you know my son?" Vlad quickly step in the lie about Danny's origin like smooth butter.

"He goes to our dad's store a lot…he rescued our sister." Roger pointed to Sasha.

"Oh, so you're the little munchkin that nearly got my boy killed." Vlad spoke in a sort of amusement, yet venomous tone, "Well, what sort of hazards do you plan to pit my poor son to now?"

"We were wondering if he could come with us on a treasure hunt." Roger stated, raising his voice a little, offended by this man's bluntness.

"T-Treasure Hunt?" Vlad raised an eyebrow as he eyed the hopeful children, "I suspect my son has way too much maturity to find imaginary treasures." How he loved calling him "son".

"It's not imaginary, it's very real." Roger pointed out, "And we're not leaving until he comes."

"If you don't, we'll pelt your house with rocks." Dash threatened. Why those little rats! Vlad possessed half a mind to lock the door, go ghost, and scare the daylights out of these little rude mongrels, but fortunately, the three received a get-out-free-card when Danny walked over, wondering what on Earth took so long between Vlad and whomever.

Once Danny peeped his head from Vlad's shoulder, the three children immediately greeted him, this time more warmly then their last encounters, Sasha especially who bravely wrapped her arms around Danny's waist affectionately.

"DANNY!" All three cried in unison.

"Hey there, little munchkins, what are you all doing here?" Danny cheerfully asked.

"Well, we were wondering if you wanted to go treasure hunting with us." Roger repeated, "We used up a lot of courage to even walk the front gates to this creepy place, so I hope it's a "yes."

"Well, of course it's a "yes." Danny immediately replied, serving it as a piece of coincidence; treasure hunting on his list which he added at age eight.

"Great, if you have some shovels, flashlights, and a bag to carry other stuff, you better go get 'em now." Roger ordered, "We'll wait by the front door."

"And hurry before your mean dad tries to force us out again." Sasha commented.

**…………………**

With a heavy heart did Vlad watch from afar, clutching a small paper bag in his hands as Danny packed a flashlight, extra batteries, first aid kit, CD players, couple of magazines to keep from boredom, and a shovel, Cujo bouncing around his bed, excitable on the prospect of going outside.

"Sorry, Cujo, but green dogs aren't really well received in the human world." Danny apologized as he patted the pup. It let out a hopeful whine, digging it's claws on Danny's arms, "I'll be back, I promise. Just try not to pee inside the manor while I'm away, okay?"

With that said, he walked out only for Vlad to block his path.

"…Vlad." Danny gave an almost accusing tone to his voice, matched that with his face which turned softer when the bag Vlad held dropped onto his hands.

"…I…I made lunch." Vlad stated, "Incase you get hungry."

"…Thanks."

"I don't know what parents usually make for kids…sandwiches and…a soda."

"That's good." Danny sincerely nodded

"…I wish you wouldn't have to go..." Vlad softly spoke.

"Vlad." Accusation returned.

"…But I can't stop you, it's in your list. Besides, God only knows how much time you have…until I find a cure that is, so…have fun."

"Thanks." Danny sidestep away from Vlad who quickly followed to give him a tight embrace, only for the boy to interrupt without facing back at his former nemesis, "…Don't bother looking for a cure. That just makes things anticlimactic. Don't make me stop the acceptance I already took." Then he left.

**…………………**

"Your dad's such a mean person."

"Not mean, scary!"

"What crawled up his butt and died?"

On and on the three rambled as Danny took all the questions in, smiling patiently as the three lead the way to the so-called treasure hunt.

"Dad's not mean, just overprotective." Danny corrected, "He means well."

"He's scary." Sasha commented, "All that black and that huge mansion…he's not a vampire, is he?"

"No." Danny smiled, if not slightly nervously. Vlad certainly did not suck blood, but he's resemblance to one is uncanny. When Sasha noticed the nervous look on his face did Danny change the subject, "So, tell me about this so-called treasure."

"Well, rumors said there's this treasure located deep inside a cave inside the forest." Roger started, "We've explored the caves many times before, but until recently, we just got a hold of a map from that crazy old guy next door."

"…Crazy old guy?" Danny repeated, questioning the reliability of the map Roger casually handed him to.

"Yep, he's crazy, but he knows his stuff." Roger commented, "There's the forest!"

The four plus entered the lush settings where Danny once felt the presence of the giant ghost. Crossing that bridge where he reunited with Sasha gave him cold feet, prompting him to stop immediately upon reaching the bridge's tip.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dash asked, "Oh, don't tell me you're scared! You're older then us!" Danny however said nothing, even as Sasha walked over to him with a small smile. There, she slowly took his hand and started to lure him in.

"It's okay, everyone's scared of something." Sasha commented, "But we're all here for you, together, so you don't have to be so afraid."

"…Y-Yeah." Danny urged a smile of his own, "Besides…you need someone older to protect you, right?"

"Right!" Sasha nodded. Danny followed, now knowing full well that nothing could deteriorate these children's goals to find their treasure, especially when he's reason could potentially expose his secret identity, so he decided instead to do what he said to comfort them: protect these children.

**…………………**

The cave nestled itself comfortably in the deep inners of the forest. Like a camouflaged predator slowly waiting for it's food to enter it's mouth, Danny, and the children walked inside the gap to be met with pitch black sans the flashlights they quickly turned on. For the first few minutes, everything turned out smoothly as they merely walked by the way of the map Roger held in his hands, the only sounds occasionally from the scared children's lips and silent drips of water from atop the stalactites, landing towards nearby small ponds that adored the inner cavern. Their first trip to a dead end occurred atop a broken rocky bridge that would lead them inside.

"Great, that's suppose to be the right way in." Roger mumbled.

"Maybe if we had some dynamites, we could build a bridge with these giant rock pillars!" Dash suggested.

"None of us has any dynamites, stupid." Roger hissed, "Dad doesn't even trust us with fireworks!"

"Got any other bright idea, Genius McGee?" Dash shouted back.

"Danny, what do we do?" Sasha quietly asked the older figure as Dash and Roger argued back and forth. The 16 year old pondered. If he could only go ghost and fly over.

"Hmm…maybe I can jump over it." Danny stated. The gap seemed fairly far apart and the hole below seemingly bottomless, but it certainly garnered the attention of three kids.

"You going to jump, seriously?" Roger gasped.

"Don't, you'll die!" Sasha grabbed his hand. Indeed, one fatal move and he'd probably plummet to his death unless he went ghost, but perhaps as a testimony to all the years of combating and improving his physic, all the years lacking much of any fear an average teenager would run from, and the prospect that he handled his coming death well, this seemed like any good time to risk it all and live life to his fullest, so he gave a confident smile.

"I'll be fine." Danny noted, "I'll scout ahead and see if I can find an alternate way for you guys to get in."

"No, find the treasure." Roger suggested, "I don't think there ARE any alternate routes according to this map."

"…Are you sure?"

"We're counting on you." Roger saluted, then he force the map over to him slowly like a right of passage, "Good Luck."

"…If anything bad comes, ANYTHING, I want you guys to try and get to safety. Don't wait for me." Danny urged, "Okay?"

"…Okay." All three silently responded.

Danny nodded as he took a deep breath. Imagining almost all the times he lifted himself up to fly, Danny lifted his feet from the ground and in a fit of seemingly slow motions akin to dramatic scenes on television did Danny make a bold leap. His feet barely reached the tip of the ledge and so he fell halfway down before grabbing it with his arms, all as the three children gasped and screamed.

"I-I'm okay!" Danny shouted, lifting himself up, then brushing the excessive dirt of his shirt, "I'm alright. Stay there, all of you. I'll try and be quick." And with it, he dived in further, flashlight in hand. At times, he wished he'd thought to bring walkie-talkies as cell phones held no reception in trapped rocky areas, then again, did those kids even possess a portable phone?

The loneliness and darkness didn't phase him very much though, having faced ghosts for two years, some more disfigured then others, the fact that the entire setting at the moment felt like a horror movie didn't even enter his unusually calm, but cautious mind.

That said, he spent some fifteen minutes following the map, resting only once to consume one of the sandwiches Vlad made: Tuna, not bad, perhaps he did possess the potential to be a decent parent. A quick right turn afterwards caused Danny to slip upon end, leading the boy to slide down an unusually slippery downward path until he landed inside a round, if not slightly claustrophobic room where incidentally upon being kicked in the ass by gravity, Danny lied face to face next to a musty old treasure chest.

"Holy Shit, that crazy idiot isn't crazy." Danny gasped. Lifting himself up until he got into a kneeled position, he eyeballed the lock on the chest, took a huge sigh, and slowly used his intangibility to open the lock. Opening said chest, all he spotted inside lied a single gold coin with remarkable markings of a different culture. No nothing, no other gold, no letters explaining the reason behind the single piece of treasure, just one coin. Danny however managed a small chuckle.

"All this for one coin." Danny smiled, "Those kids are going to be disappointed. Still, looks to be worth something." Pocketing the coin in hand, he observed his surroundings. No way out which lead Danny to the conclusion that the man who hid the chest possessed ghost powers himself, was a ghost, or he built a secret entrance. Pushing the walls and stomping the ground did Danny eventually trigger an opening on one of the walls which slid to the right, creating an exit.

"Man, how _Goonies_ is this?" Danny teased to himself, exiting and finding himself in another section of the cave, "Now what?" The map held no other alternative ways to leave after the treasure, leaving him no choice but to wing it. At this point in time, it seemed fairly obvious a combination of flight and intangibility seem to be the way to go. Frustrated on the limited options that only lead to his fabled ghost powers, Danny slowly transformed into his ghost half and flew his way out.

**  
………………**

All remained quiet, tranquil to both the children and Danny, then the entire cave shook as if an earthquake took hold. The children huddled together and cried out in fear while Danny himself fell both from exhaustion and debris landing atop of him, causing him to revert to his human self, tired and dazed. As he struggled to get up, the familiar wisp of blue left his lips once more.

"…No…" Forcing himself to stand on his two legs, Danny used the walls as he hastily made his way to the kids.

"ROGER! DASH! SASHA!" Danny shouted,

"DANNY!" Sasha's voice. Struggling to maneuver in vain pass falling debris and shaky grounds, Danny witness the three children over the familiar gap. With a potential cave-in heading their way and his current fatigue state, how would he leap over the ledge now?

"I…I thought I told you guys to run!" Danny shouted.

"These two wouldn't move cuz' they got scared and I can't exactly leave them, could I?" Roger screamed, clutching a crying Dash.

"Oh, son of a…hang on, I-I'm coming over!" Like ripping out a bandage, Danny made a quick leap and miraculously made his way across, "Whoa…head rush."

"You okay?" Sasha asked.

"Y-Yeah, come on, let's get out of here." Sasha and Roger possessed no problems, but Danny practically lifted Dash up to his feet in order for him to move. All in all, his mouth constantly let out a stream of cold air, ones the three barely noticed since they suffered a much worse crisis in their hands. Finding the way back out while eyeing a map and watching over three kids proved to be a not so easy task and even worse when upon finding the entrance, it had been sealed by numerous boulders that fell from the current quake.

"We're DOOMED!" The children screamed.

"We're gonna die!"

"HELP!"

Did the so-called giant ghost cause this current shake up while intangible inside the cave? Did it not wanted to be disturbed, did it dislike trespassers to anyone who walked the forest? Danny knew shouting towards mysterious paranormal figure would do absolutely nothing but freak the children out more that he'd gone loony. Right now, these tykes came first.

"Maybe I should have paid more attention in church!" Dash screamed, "God's angry with us!"

"…Well then, you need to all pray!" Danny suggested, "Yeah, pray right now. Pray for God to help you."

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Dash screamed.

"Close your eyes and PRAY!" Danny shouted. Without any more backlash, the children did just that. Double checking to make certain of closed eyes and occasional mumbles, Danny waltz his way over to the blocked entrance, took another big sigh, and backed his hand until it formed a basketball-sized Ecto Ray ball. With it, he extended his hand and blasted the rocks away, quickly forming a ghost shield to protect himself and the children as tinier pebbles pelted it. He manage to dissipate it in time for the kids to open their eyes upon hearing the giant of a noise, all wide eye; their prayers--answered.

"GO!" Danny pointed as he got on his knees, drawing in big gulps of air.

"Danny…" Sasha gasped as her brothers pulled her away.

"It's alright…"Danny again struggled as he got up, "I-I'm okay."

This time, the children helped Danny as they exited out of the cave before another cave-in occurred. They moved as far away as possible, running all the way back to the bridge to town where they rested, relief and curious that the earthquake ended the moment they left said cave.

"Dude, what the heck was that? What just happened?" Roger gasped, "This didn't feel normal."

"Did you get the treasure at least?" Dash asked.

Danny made off a tired smile and fished out the coin to which the middle child took.

"That's it? THAT'S the treasure?" Dash gasped.

"Sorry, kid." Then Danny fainted.

**…………………**

They manage to drag Danny to Abraham's farm, scared to death that taking him to their father would result in more punishments then they could handle. Inside, Abe phoned Vlad whom--furious as hell made like the wind, drove his convertible (making a sharp right turn that knocked out Abe's mailbox in the process), and ran up to Danny only to see not only Abe there, but the three children. One deadly glare from the billionaire caused the children to blurt out what happen. Needless to say, despite the resting Danny, Vlad let out a series of emotional outbursts.

"HOW COULD YOU ENDANGER HIM LIKE THAT--

--DOES YOUR FATHER KNOW ABOUT THIS--

--IRRATIONAL THINKING--

--DANIEL IS UNDER A LOT OF DIFFICULT CONDITION--

--IF YOU THINK I'M EVER LETTING YOU SEE MY BOY AGAIN--"

One could almost make out the swift frame of red in his eyes as he let it all out, eventually waking Danny up, much to the horrified children who would much liked to get closer to the teenager if not for the angry barricade before them.

"Daniel?" Vlad whispered.  
"…Big…ghost." Danny gasped.

"What?" Vlad cocked his head.

"…A-Are the kids alright?" Danny asked hoarsely.

"We're fine." Roger answered for all three, braving closer to him after Danny showed concern, "All of us."

"Are you going to die?" Sasha whimpered.

"…Not right now." Danny urged a smile, patting the small girl's head, "I…I just need to rest."

"What happened?" Dash asked, "Why are you so tired all of a sudden?"

"You heard him, he needs rest!" Vlad snapped, "Go home, all of you, and don't think I won't be telling your father about this!" With that said, the children left the room, Dash's whimpering heard from the hallways.

"And you call me a harsh father." Abe grinned.

"Get out, I want some alone time with Daniel." Vlad spoke. Abe didn't directly obey, instead giving off his usual snide glares towards his only child and a quick look of concern over his pseudo-grandson before ultimately closing the door on his way out.

"Daniel?" Vlad's voice started off eerily calm.

"Ya know, you didn't have to scare the kids away, they mean well." Danny started before Vlad could get in a word.

"They're irresponsible little buggers." Vlad spat, "Obviously their father failed to do a good enough job with them."

"They're kids, Vlad, they were having fun." Danny defended, "I was like that when I was their age, I'm sure you were, too."

"…Let's change the subject, now shall we?" Vlad annoying bolted out, "Like for example, that big ghost blurb. I know you're not in the best of health right now, but…what are you talking about?"

Danny panicky eyed Vlad and took another big sigh, knowing well Vlad would never drop this subject unless he confessed--how many nervous incidents would he suffer through today?

"…About like two weeks ago, when I went to rescue Sasha, I…I sensed a ghost, or I think I did." Danny began, "It must have been invisible the whole time because all I ever did was felt it…and it was huge."

"How big are we talking about?"

"I don't know--maybe skyscraper huge?" Danny shrugged, "Oh, and it was long, too, kinda like what a giant snake would be like."

"Snake-like." Vlad pondered.

"It felt like a powerful ghost…but…it also felt…different."

"How different?"

"I don't know--More…stronger on a more…spiritual level?" Danny struggled, "I…I can't explain it. It happened today during the treasure hunt. It only affected the caves…in fact, just this forest."

Vlad said nothing, lost in thought.

"Maybe the forest is it's home?" Danny shrugged, "Plenty of ghosts live here, I'm sure. I mean, the Dairy King does for example…right?"

Vlad again said nothing.

"…Vlad?"

"Get some rest, Daniel. We'll leave as soon as you have the energy to walk."

**…………………**

Energy to walk required about three days of constant sleep, plenty of time for Abe and Vlad to do one of two things: continuous glares from afar and Abe bombarding Vlad with questions on Danny's current state, "Is he sick?" "What happened?" "How did he get this way?" "…Is he dying?" Neither one Vlad answered, not even the last and correct one to which he gave off a stoic reaction so as not to give anything regarding Danny's condition away.

They eventually left and returned to the familiar manor only for the two to meet not-so-familiar additions to it: One concerned redheaded sister, a worried techno geek, and one angry Goth girl…

**To Be Continued…**

**…………………**

**Author's Note: **Ya know, "_Shades of Gray_" implied Cujo can go the bathroom like others do, but being a ghost, does he or she really need to? I mean, I know Hartman stated some of the ghosts are just monsters of another dimension, but still. I kinda struggled with that, but in the end, to keep with TV canon, I just went with it.

That said, sorry for the long update. I was lazy mostly, my bad. Well, I suppose this page could count as filler, but I guess it was to establish a firm relationship Danny shares with a bunch of friggin' OCs cuz' I like development, ahahaha.


	11. Reunion UnWelcome

**Pocket Watch**  
**Reunion Un-Welcome**

"We come here thinking you're in trouble and we see you get all BUDDY BUDDY with Vlad?" Sam screeched the moment the three concerned figures of Tucker, Jazz, and herself entered the main living room with Danny, Vlad having left to give him time alone with them, "He came in here with his ARM around you!"

"Well, if he didn't, I'd have collapsed, I don't exactly have the energy right now." Danny cried out.

"E-Energy, for what?" Sam reared her head back, "D-Did you and Vlad do something in private that you don't want to tell us?" With the tone in her voice and the flustered cheek she possessed, Danny hankered on Sam's thoughts and immediately objected.

"NO! Not like THAT! I-It's a long story, but Vlad's cool."

"Vlad's…cool?" Man, are you hearing yourself?" Tucker asked.

"Look, he hasn't tried to kill you guys or anything, has he?" Danny shrugged.

"That's not a good enough reason, Danny. He could be playing along and could kill us when we least expect it." Jazz's turn, although her voice remained the softest and most sympathetic.

"Maybe Vlad somehow has you under his control…like…like with some techno-chip or something. Tucker, examine him or something!" Sam demanded. Wincing, Tucker whipped out his trusty PDA and examined Danny for any signs of a mechanic device hidden around his body, ultimately revealing nothing.

"He's clean."

"Then maybe Vlad successfully manage to overshadow him or something. We brought some Fenton device that I'm sure can work--" Sam spoke as she dug in her bag.

"SAM! KNOCK IT OFF! I don't have a techno device, I am not possessed, I'm JUST ME!" Danny shouted, enough that he exhausted himself to require him to sit down on the nearby armchair where he took in deep breaths. The worried Jazz approached him and felt his forehead, gasping at the raised temperature.

"Danny, you're sick, what happened?" She asked.

Slowly, the boy lifted his head up and eyed his worried sister, the same expression she mastered over the years, the very same he himself mustered when he watched over the three children from the general store. Should he tell her? Tell his friends and sister about his most kept secret? After all, he would die eventually and having all three of them left in the runt, unable to figure what killed him could puzzle and bewilder them for the reminder of their lives. With a heavy heart, he took a deep sigh.

"Danny, what's wrong with you, why are you acting like this?" Jazz basically repeated, "Vlad and you together? Acting like you're close friends? You have to be hiding something."

"Jazz…"

"But I understand, you must have a reason to keep it, just like you did when you first became a superhero. You never told me or mom and dad."

"Jazz…"

"I trust you, little brother. I'm sure you have a good reason to why you're keeping this a secret. We all just came here because we're concerned. We love you, all of us."

"H-How did you find me?" Danny got his answer when Tucker lifted the old newspaper article of him rescuing people from the burning farm, "…Oh."

"Until you do tell us, we're not leaving and if that means having to put up with Vlad--who, by the way, we're going to be watching--then so be it!" Sam crossed her arms.

"There's no need to do that, Sam…my fate is inevitable as far as I know, so I might as well confess." Danny stood up, positioning himself in hopes he wouldn't trip from exhaustion, "Guys…what I'm about to tell you might be shocking, but it's the truth. I'm…"

He watched in as all three, eyes wide open glared in anticipation. They prayed their hopes for Danny's news wouldn't be as faltering and terrible as they suspected, unfortunately, they got something much worse.

"I'm dying."

Silence fell with only the sound of a nearby grandfather clock rhythmically ticking as the three took time to let this all sink in, all of them frozen in the same spot they'd been in before Danny confessed: Jazz with her hands held together, Tucker clutching his PDA, and Sam with her arms down, hands balled into fists. They prepared little for the bombshell that dropped on their faces, so much so that Tucker let out a hearty laugh. Danny didn't react, knowing predictably that would be Tucker's first reaction to bad news, that or budding sarcasm.

"Oh, man! You almost had us! Good going, Danny, but seriously, what's wrong with you?" Danny almost smiled. Tucker may not take everything seriously, but the lighthearted nature definitely felt needed in these grave times.

"No jokes, I'm really dying." Danny softly smiled.

"Danny, you're smiling, people don't smile when they're about to die." Tucker suggested.

"I've seen accepted it." Danny shrugged, "I don't really know why I did so quickly. Maybe I'm part ghost, I don't know."

"You're only part ghost because your DNA was infected by ghost strands of it, it's not like you're half dead." Jazz corrected. Danny made another smile and a small chuckle, nodding.

"Danny…please tell me you're joking." Sam asked after a fit of silence, her voice now soft and breaking. Danny stared at those lavender eyes, the very same eyes that often gazed over Danny in a deep, profound manner, one Danny did not notice until right now. Even then he put on a sincere smile and nodded.

"Sorry, but I'm dying. I'm not exactly sure why, but Vlad thinks it might be due to my ghost powers." Danny answered, letting Sam let off a small squeal of agony.

"He might be right." Danny spoke seriously, "Every time I use my powers…it drains me of my energy and I get weaker and weaker. That barn fire, I was in bed for like a weak because of that, recovering my strength back, but I felt a sense of death crawling and trying to gain a hold of me."

"Danny…" Sam whispered.

"Vlad's trying to find a cure, but I'm not hoping." He shook his head, "I mean, I know he's smart to find one, but…I've accepted my coming death and I just wish to finish what I need done before I go."

Another added silence. Tucker kept a sad, yet stoic face while Jazz seemed more accepting, but sorrowful. Sam's face however proved her stubbornness again as she yelled at Danny's face.

"WHY? WHY CAN'T YOU ACCEPT VLAD'S HELP THEN?" She shouted.

"Geez, Sam, just a minute ago, you were against him!" Danny sighed.

"He's trying to find a cure and you DENY it? Hell, we should call your folks, maybe they can help, too!"

"I'll tell mom and dad soon, when the time comes, so please don't say anything to them. I want to be the one to tell them."

"IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Sam stomped her foot like an irritable child, "You're NOT suppose to die! YOU'RE NOT!"

"Sam…" Tucker tried to step in to prevent her from going any further then she should, but she already stepped into tears.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" With that, she ran off for parts unknown.

"SAM!" Tucker cried out.

"Oh-No." Was Jazz's only response while Danny sighed, then sat back down, tired.

Knowing of Sam's temper often leaving her as a rather unpleasant person to be with, Danny and the others left her alone. She wondered into the garden greenhouse somewhere around the back of Vlad's manor, surrounded by her fellow plants, ones that did not fortunately possess her as they did two years back. Danny meanwhile went to his room to sleep, to further recover his energy while Tucker and Jazz, hungry from the long travel entered the dining area where Vlad asked if they wanted any dinner.

"We're ordering." Tucker stoically responded. He may be trying to help Danny with his dying dilemmas, but that served only as round one out of the dozens Vlad scored against Danny and his beloved ones, "Damn, all the fast food joints are like hours away!"

"The nearest neighbor does not hold those buildings of greasy death." Vlad muttered.

"What? Not even a Nasty Burger?" Tucker screeched to which Vlad shook his head. Tucker let off a groan and smacked his head down the dining table.

"Now, I can make you something--something much healthier if you all cooperate with me." Vlad suggested, "I know I've never given you a reason not to, but for Daniel's sake, I rather not start an argument, let alone a battle. You children are mature enough to handle civilized behaviors."

"Technically, I'm 18, so I'm more of an adult then child and--" Jazz stopped correcting Vlad when both he and Tucker glared at her, "…Right. Dinner."

The three stayed in Vlad's manor for the time. They planned on this by having told their parents they wished to attend a computer camp, an institute for the intelligent, and a proper etiquette class (the latter having to further her lie by stating she'd go somewhere her parents would willingly let her, both of them too happy for their daughter turning over her Goth lifestyle in their eyes to suspect her motives) for a full week. The Fentons dealt with this the most, having already lost a son, now fearful Jazz, too would runaway. It took hours of convincing to prove otherwise before they released her.

The trio prayed in that week's time, they could bring Danny back home. Jazz, in keeping with the of sort of promise with Skulker and Danny's letter he wrote when he left, she had yet to tell Jack and Maddie; but she still claimed herself the more responsible of the two siblings so she went to talk to Danny once he felt good enough to eat properly to discuss when their parents can know.

"Soon, Jazz, soon."

"When is soon? Mom and Dad have to know." Jazz asked as she sat on a chair next to Danny's bed where he sat, blanket covering his lower half.

"Letting them know I die would require telling my secret, so I need more time on how I will go about this approach." Danny sighed, despite the fact that his parents accepted him during a fiasco involving the Reality Gauntlet and Freakshow. It still embalmed him with fear over how his parents will go through should he ever confess. Two years passed since that incident and while nothing dramatic occurred in both Jack and Maddie's life to change their opinions, today was not two years back.

"That's a risk you have to take, Danny." Jazz placed a caring hand on her brother.

"…I know." Danny muttered softly.

While both Tucker and Jazz easily warmed back into Danny's good grace, even going further to helping him until his energy fully recovered, Sam spent the majority of her time in the gardens, refusing to remain contact with him. Bad enough he and Vlad could be skipping around in a rainbow field with talking flowers, but the fact that the young boy would be dead soon refused to leave her mind. As try as she might, Sam knew denying would accomplish nothing, but she played the avoidance card very well.

She liked him. She really liked him. She developed a small crush on him over the years they've known, only fully manifested during the first incident Danny fought through with Ember McLain in which her crush grew from there. Over the years, that newfound love she held for him only grew as the boy himself turned from this skinny, shy naïve boy into a full fledged hero. Love? Is it love? Is that how she felt for him or just deep admiration? Sam manage to survive years living with the fact that no one officially took Danny as a boyfriend, the closest being Valerie herself in which the two suffered a sort of on and off relationship, marred by each of their own personal duties, but now he was dying. Worse then a girl trying to take his heart, Sam knew now or never, she must confess how she felt for him or never get that chance again.

She left the garden greenhouse around day five of their stay, walking over to the main living room where Danny and the others dwelled sans Vlad who seated himself in the next room nearby, working, stepping in only when he felt Danny needed something.

"Sam!" came the cries of the three. Only Jazz and Tucker got up to greet her properly while Danny stayed on the couch to preserve his energy.

"Danny…can I talk with him alone?" Sam asked Tucker and Jazz as if seeking their approval, "I need to tell him something." As if on cue, Danny stood up and slowly walked over to Sam, gesturing her to walk with him. Jazz placed a hand on Danny, indicating he shouldn't move so much, but he let it assure he'd be all right.

Down the expensive hallway the two walked, both in fits of silence, unknowing who should speak first. Danny eventually started the conversation.

"You wanted to tell me something?"

"Oh, y-yeah." She placed a strand of hair behind her ear, "Well, first off, I'm sorry for acting so angry. You're my best friend and I hearing you about to die soon, well--"

"I know." Danny confidentially stepped in.

"I need to tell you something."

"I'm listening."

They stopped, eyeing each other, Sam more nervous and jittery, which only increased upon seeing how relatively calm Danny currently was.

"Well?" He asked.

"I…well…see, the thing is…"

"…Sam?"

How sincere Danny's face looked. How worried, concerned, and peaceful he gazed back towards her. This is a face where anyone can confess anything and they would be completely all right with it.

"N-Never mind. It's nothing big and I-it can wait."

She immediately walked off, hiding her face with her hand, her brain mentally beating herself for being so stupid as to once again walk the cowards' way out. Even with him potentially leaving the mortal world forever, she could not tell him her true feelings…  
**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Poor Sam. It's only going to be complicated when Valerie gets into the mix in the future. Ahaha. Poor girls. Danny's not gonna end up with anyone, bwahaha.

Curiously, I got a lot of responses stating Jazz, Sam. Tucker, and anyone other then Vlad and Danny should never appear in the story which in a sense does not work--well, this story anyways. The primary focus will always be Vlad and Danny here, but we NEED the others. I mean, they cannot be completely ignorant to what Danny is going through and considering how they are close to him; they are needed in his life. Whether you like it or not, they will play some parts in the stories.


	12. Thrill of the Hunt

**Pocket Watch**  
**Thrill of the Hunt**

They only had a week to spend any leisure time with Danny (heck, less then as the past few days involved Sam cowering around from Danny due to her own set of emotions) before packing up to return home, Jazz, especially, who as much as she concerned herself over Danny to her fullest worried on the loss of homework and tests and she missed during that week ("We had a chemistry test--Oh-No!").

On the second to last day, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz accompanied Danny as he drove them towards the Masters Farm, bypassing the town before it. Seated next to Danny sat a small three-foot tree. When they reached the front gates, Danny parked the car and turned himself to face the three.

"Umm--this is going to sound awkward, but you guys have to do a little role-playing."

"Role…playing?" Sam repeated.

"With double sided dices?" Tucker added his usually jokes.

"No, you just have to refer to me as…Danny Masters."

"EXCUSE ME?" Sam sprang up.

"Look, this is the farm where Vlad's father lives and we're on good terms, but the thing is…he thinks I'm Vlad's son, so thusly he's my "grandfather." Danny answered, much to the look of shocked expression on the three.

"I know it's unorthodox, but for Abraham's sake, just pretend I'm Vlad's son." Danny exited the car before any of his friends and sister could get in a word edgewise. Immediately the three exchanged glances towards Danny and Abraham hugging each other.

"Wow, he looks like a shaggier Vlad." Sam contorted.

"I just can't believe Vlad used to be a cowboy in his youth." Tucker gasped, "It's like a complete paradox!"

"Grandpa, these are my friends Sam, Tucker, and Jazz."

"Actually, I'm his older sis--" Danny quickly elbowed his sister, then whispered, "I'm an only child."

"Friends, ey? Never seen you three around, so I can reckon you're kids from Daniel's private school."

Danny quickly off a quick facial gesture that signified the three to put on their best faces and lie in agreement.

"They're here to visit--and I also came here to see if I can fulfill a special request." Danny said.

"Special request?" Abe scratched his temple. Danny nodded and quickly returned with the tree.

"I was wondering if I could--ya know--plant this tree in your yard somewhere," Danny said, "Maybe in the middle of the plains so that there will be a big tree in the center by years to come?"

"Is there a reason why you suddenly have the desire to plant a tree?"

"Just as a reminder of my time here." Danny practiced this line over and over, having not told him his list of things he wanted to do before he died, another fact Abe didn't know of Danny.

"Well, alright then, we'll plant the tree in the middle of my plains, then afterwards, we can get your little friends into the farm life," Abe cackled, "Lifting, fixing, milking, riding, whatever we got for them."

"Lifting?" Tucker groaned.

Planting the tree merely began the easiest in a line of chores the three struggled through. Danny had grown used to it over time, proving what a surprisingly effective cowboy/farmer he is. Sam, due to her healthy, fit nature possessed no problems getting into the farm work, Jazz proved to be mediocre mostly when it came to heavy lifting, but served the best when working on animals. Tucker proved to be the most difficult to handle as while he's strength improved due to his time of ghost hunting, he hadn't bother training as much as either Danny or Sam, but by farm's end, he generally manage to keep up.

By sunset, Danny taught all three horseback riding with Jazz--again proving she eased with animals the best--rode with great success, improving quicker then Danny did when he trained with them weeks back. Tucker and Sam both took a bit more time, but eventually they manage to catch up, though not to near expert degrees that Danny slowly laddered over.

"Wow, Danny, you're really into this farm stuff." Tucker commented as he handled his horse, "We'd never thought considering you spent so much time over by the city."

"I didn't either, but there's something about this place I like so much," Danny sincerely smiled, "The air is clean, there's always something to do, and every time I finish a chore, I feel so…satisfied."

"You refuse to clean up your room, but you don't mind milking cows?" Sam chuckled.

"Speaking of cows, why are there so little?" Jazz came next, riding next to Danny, "If this is a dairy farm, surely there would be more bovines roaming the land."

"Honestly, you got me," Danny started, "This farm does look a bit ramshackle in appearance."

"Maybe this farm is dying," Jazz pondered, "Not enough money or maybe their lands will be bought off."

"Maybe, I'll ask grandpa about it."

Immediately the three gave stares.

"What?"

"Dude, you called him "grandpa." Tucker said.

"You've heard me call him that like a gazillion times today." Danny defended.

"Yeah, but only when he's around which he's not, it's just us four." Sam pushed.

"So? What does it matter?"

"Danny, I know you care for that man, but don't let this completely absorb you," Jazz came, "You have grandparents, biological ones--granted they don't visit much for their own reasons--but you are NOT Vlad's son, you're Jack and Maddie's."

"I know that, Jazz, don't you think I don't?" Danny irritated, declared, upset at his infant treatment he recieved, "Someday, I'll tell the truth."

"And when is that?" Jazz continued.

"I--I don't know. Please, Jazz, don't make me decide now, I already have too much on my plate and I don't want this day ruined."

Jazz's only reaction afterwards turned into disapproving silence while Sam remained annoyed and Tucker, mixed signals.

After spending dinner time at the Masters Farm, Danny opt to take the three home when their festive spirits drained out of their bodies after the conversation on Danny's supposed family identity issues. He quickly gave another reassuring hug to his pseudo grandfather, made the note to ask him sometime in the future about the lack of life in the farm, and drove the three home.

--------------------------

The three didn't arrive via Specter Speeder in order to lessen their parents' suspicious and instead on Sam's money to afford airplane tickets to Wisconsin and back, so Vlad drove them all to the airport on the seventh day. There, hearty exchanges came in the form of Jazz's advices, Tucker's relaxed jokes, and Sam's hesitant, yet sincere farewells. All three of them gave Danny a hug before exchanging mixed glances towards Vlad, promised they'd visit over summer, and left home.

Danny waved until he could no longer see their faces, then stayed and watched from the large window as their plane departed. Seven days passed by too quickly, Danny gripped his hands tightly as a hand grazed his shoulder. Gasping, he turned and faced Vlad.

"I'm sorry, Daniel, did I startle you?"

"A little--j-just caught up in the moment, is all." Danny answered.

"Do you wish to stay a little longer?"

"N-No. I'm okay, let's go home."

----------------------------

Waking up at dawn to watch a sunrise, then crossing it off his list, Danny then spent the reminder of the morning writing a rough draft of his will. By noon time, after he ate lunch, Danny figured now would be a good as any time to enter the Ghost Zone and commence making peace. Fearing Vlad wouldn't let him go, he once again had to resort to sneaking, equipping him from head to toe with various anti-ghost gadgets to protect himself.

"Okay, Fenton, you've done this before. You've fought ghosts while in human form before," Danny mumbled to himself, "You can do this. If things get bad, turn tail and run." Easing himself further, Danny dived inside Vlad's portal and entered the familiar green and violet ectoplasmic entity known as the Ghost Zone. Helplessly floating, hardly any roads existed in here and while human; Danny could not fly to his destination. Luckily, he spotted Skulker's floating island lair nearby (unsurprisingly, it kept a relatively close distance to Vlad's portal) and through sheer brain power, Danny deducted that as long as he floated, he could "swim" over. He and Skulker shared little on the same page throughout, but he figured perhaps the ghost hunter could take some sign of sympathy for him due to his illness. He did give him his fabled list after all.

Once on solid ground (much to his relief), Danny explored the tedious flora and fauna of Skulker's island, eventually finding his small cabin home. Smoke poured from the chimney. _Good, he's home. _Quickly Danny knocked on his door, and then scanned the area. _No traps triggered, also good. _

"Ember? If that's you, I told you, it's over! Go away!"

"Skulker, it's me."

A pause came before the door open before the giant hulk of a ghost eyeballed the child before him.

"Um…why are you here?"

"Err…can I come in?"

"Not until you tell me why you're here."

"I could use some help. I want to start making peace with the ghosts now--remember, I told you this before--and I could use your help." He quickly answered.

"Like what?"

"Well, you're usually associated with the ghosts I've manage to defeat every so often, and I figured since I can't go ghost out of risk, maybe you can be a--"

"Can be a what?" Skulker asked with a mix of irritation and intrigue.

"Be like a…bodyguard?"

Skulker, stunned, glared at the child.

"A-Are you KIDDING me?" He asked, "You want ME, the guy who wants to put your pelt on my wall to baby-sit you?"

"Skulker, I can put up a decent fight as a human, but I can't take on all the ghosts at this form," Danny pressured, "Please, I'm dying, can't you help me out?"

"Look, I already got you that stupid list and brought you back to the manor when you fainted that one time, that's more then enough good deeds towards you I can handle, ghost child."

"Oh, come on!" Danny whined, "Do you want me to tell Vlad you mistreated me? I know you often rely on him and I know for a fact Vlad's going to put ME over YOU."

Skulker immediately mumbled of a set of curses and invited Danny inside. The boy only knew Skulker's cabin purely from the outside, so he gave off curious looks when he entered for the first time. Predictably, the inners resembled greatly of that of Vlad's rustic cabin home, only with familiar Earth animals replaced by various ghosts of different sizes and shapes, either mounted on walls or draped on the floor. Various weapons of different centuries graced any leftover area on the walls (some stacked in a corner), there stood a bookshelf behind a couch and armchair set as well as a coffee table, and a television across. Excluding the row of ghosts as 'wall art', Skulker's place surprisingly felt homely. He'd be lying if he stated he wasn't curious on what the inners of his bedroom looked like.

"Hey, whelp, you want some tea?"

"My name is DANNY--and yeah, sure."

"This could take a while, you know," Skulker started, "Huge animosities just doesn't go away just because you want it to."

"I succeeded with Vlad and we're getting better."

"Yeah, but Vlad's always wanted you as a son and he sorta got the wish, so that rivalry was more one sided then anything else."

"I suppose." Danny observed the area once more, "Don't you have a dining table?"

"No. I always eat in the living room."

"Why?"

"Because I like to watch TV while I do."

"Oh."

"Don't tell me Vlad's already turned you into a spoiled little moneybags. Honestly, sometimes his pompous behavior frustrates me." Skulker ranted.

"Any average being has a dining table, Skulker." Danny sighed.

"Well, I'm not average."

"I guess not, in reality, you're a tiny being," Danny shrugged, "What? Were you a midget in your human life?"

Skulker ceased his tea making and gave a quick glare to Danny, "I was never a human. I was born a ghost."

"Oh…I guess that makes sense," Danny nodded, "…How did you get into ghost hunting anyways?"

"I just liked the thrill and started it, nothing more to say and I advise you to stop asking," Skulker warned, "I don't like to reveal my life to others."

"Sorry."

"So, where are your little friends? And your sister? Vlad told me they were visiting."

"They left yesterday."

"Oh, really? Shame, I always did like that Goth chick." Skulker chuckled.

"Excuse me?" Danny retorted, "Sam?"

"Reminds me of my ex-girlfriend: no nonsense, darkly dressed, constantly bitching, and viewing the world in a cynical light. Sounds like that Goth girl, no?"

"Yeah."

"You like her, don't you?"

"M-Me? I…I…"

"Then again, you also like that Ghost Hunting chick."

"I…I…" Danny let off a sigh. He's dying, what did he have to hide, "I like them. I really do."

"Do you see a future with any of them?"

"Skulker, I'm dying," Danny sighed, "But I suppose in given time, I'll tell them how I feel."

"I wouldn't mind you getting with the hunter chick. Although she and I share the same goal, I prefer the dark girl. I wouldn't mind getting my hands down that Goth chick's--"

"Oh, my GOD! Either you're joking to psych me out or you seriously have a crush on Sam!"

"Sam, that's her name, right…of course." Skulker placed the teacup down, "Drink up, kid."

Danny gave a quick look of disgust towards Skulker. His ex-girlfriend? How on Earth does Skulker and any girlfriends he dated possibly end up doing the dirty business in their bedroom? _ACK! Too much thought! _Danny mentally slapped himself before taking a deep breath and drinking. Immediately he slammed the cup down and groaned.

"Wha--What the hell's IN this drink?"

"Sleeping potion." Skulker casually answered.

"W-What? WHY?" Danny stood up, though wobbly.

"Well, I've been thinking recently. You're dying soon and with you possibly entering the gates of Heaven or whatever, I figured maybe if I killed you now, I won't have to live with the fact that I can't kill you later," Skulker deviously grinned, "So when you coincidentally came in, I took my chances, gained your trust, and well--here we are now."

"Y-You bastard." Danny spat out before finally collapsing.

-------------------------------

When Danny came to, he found himself outside. Lush greenery meant he still resided in Skulker's lair. Struggling to get up, Danny found his gadgets missing and immediately he let off a curse.

"Damn it, Skulker! I swear I am going to KILL you!" He cried out, despite the irony of the statement. Immediately he heard a loud scream echoing over the trees: Skulker.

"Damn, he must know I've awaken by now." Danny clumsily pulled himself to his feet and ran in what he hoped to be the opposite direction of where Skulker was running from.

"Oh, criminy, I'm a sitting duck!" Danny cried to himself, "I can't use my ghost powers, I'll--I'll faint. God, I have to file this decision under Complete Wankery."

Danny ran like the wind, unaware of where to go, eyeing the area constantly for any hidden traps, which he bumped into in a matter of minutes. Fortunately he was quick to dodge, having survived Skulker's hunts frequently, but he knew his human endurance could not last against Skulker as much as his ghost form could.

Danny eventually ran out of breath after nearly a half an hour of running. Skulker provided silent during the last fifteen minutes, causing an eerie sense of quite he didn't enjoy. His legs eventually gave way and he once more wobbled and fell. Timing couldn't be any worse as Skulker rustled from beneath the bushes and aimed his gun towards Danny's head.

"30 minutes, not bad considering you're in your human form, but now I think it's time to say good-bye, Ghost Child."

Unable to breathe properly, his throat clogging up, Danny flashed over a million different sayings in his head, all of them seemingly contradicting one another, but ultimately telling him to transform. With little choice and time, Danny quickly turned ghost and twisted the nuzzle of his gun at the same time Skulker shot, the bullet blowing a hole clear across his face and revealing the tiny ghost inside.

"Oh, crap!" His tiny voice snapped. Danny quickly picked up the little critter and gave a deadly face.

"Y-You're pathetic." Danny cried out, "Even when I'm weak, I still manage to gain the upper hand somehow. I'll give you points for effort though."

"ARGH! This isn't fair! I'm the greatest Ghost Hunter in the world, GREATEST!" Skulker waved his body around in hopes Danny would drop him, "This isn't FAIR! Why can't I destroy you? WHY?"

"When Vlad gets word of this, he's gonna be making YOU into wall art in his cabin, Skulker," Danny stated, "But I'm willing to keep my mouth shut if you just stop hunting me!"

"Why you--"

"I don't have a lot of time and I would like to leave this place under good terms!" Danny continued.

"So it's fair for you to finish up all your goals before you reach Heaven or whatnot but it's not fair of me to uphold my end of the bargain of vowing to hunt you down?"

"You have all but eternity to stay in the Ghost Zone and do whatever the hell you want, I don't have much time on Earth! I'm DYING, Skulker! Hell, all these goals I'm accomplishing might be for nothing because I don't know if Heaven exists or not, but I sure as hell ain't stopping now! Of course, you'd probably never understand that since you never died once in your entire life!"

"LET ME GO!"

Danny did so, dropping him like a hard brick before turning around and flying off. Not only did he used his ghost powers, but he also lost a majority of Vlad's anti-ghost gadgets to Skulker. When Vlad finds parts of his lab missing, the boy would be in for it big time. At the moment, he didn't care. The first thing he did when he returned back to the mortal realm was turn back into a human, struggle his way upstairs, and sleep for the next three days.

------------------------------

Naturally, Vlad got note Danny did something wrong when he found the boy so weary. Instead of berating him, he only gave him as much comfort for the time, vowing to have a small chat with him when the boy could handle moving his mouth without making unintelligible garbles. Time slipped through against the boy's wishes and the last thing both of them wanted would be another heated argument between the two. Danny managed to walk himself out of bed by the fifth day since he barely used any of his powers beyond flying. He eventually confessed to Vlad what he did to end up the way he did.

"Sorry."

"You could have told me, I could have taken you."

"I figured you'd object."

"Well, perhaps, but better me then no one, especially regarding your condition."

"Y-Yeah. I'm sorry about losing all your equipments. Skulker must've taken them."

"That's alright. I can always build new ones. It's you I can't rebuilt." Vlad patted the boy's head, "I just wish you'd learn to trust me."

That stung Danny a little. By the sixth day, Danny gained knowledge from Vlad that Skulker returned his weapons and left without saying a word.

"He did seem concerned for your well being, so I suppose it's a small step up." Vlad concluded.

"Hmm, maybe there is hope after all." Danny snickered.

"Hard to say, he's very one tracked."

"Better then nothing."

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **There, I made a friggin' update. I'm just so busy with so much crap to do that's it's getting harder to update. I also admit I'm starting to lose interest in this fic; so whether or not I'll ever finish this fanfic is debatable. That said, don't be surprised if updates are far and few between…well, more so then usually. 


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